A coworker told me my bike commute makes things worse and I actually had to think about it

3 comments

3 Comments

Had a similar thing happen to me a few years back. A coworker was convinced I was causing traffic on our street by biking, so I invited them to ride with me one morning. They saw firsthand how I take the lane only when needed and move over for cars when it's safe. It shifted their view a little, even if they didn't fully admit it. Might be worth offering to show your coworker your route sometime, just to clear the air.

murphy.aaron6d ago

Coworker said what? That's insane. Your bike commute is literally one of the best things you can do for the environment and yourself. I don't get how anyone could twist that into making things worse. Was this person driving a lifted pickup truck while telling you that?

quinna896d ago

Respectfully, @murphy.aaron, I see it a little differently. Some people who work in logistics or traffic planning have brought up a valid point that bike commuters can actually add to congestion in certain ways, like when they slow down car traffic on narrow roads or take up space on buses during peak hours. But that's more about the overall system being poorly designed for bikes, not the cyclist themselves being wrong to ride. A lifted truck driver probably just didn't want to admit their own commute is part of the problem, so they took a cheap shot at your good habit.