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In this bicycle friendly city, I’d rather walk

February 21, 2009 by Dave 12 Comments

bikesyieldtopedsIn 1993 I was a broke college student unable to replace a stolen bike and living several miles from campus. I started taking the bus.

Since then I’ve mostly lived and worked downtown or along major transit routes. My car free and bike free arrangement has mostly served me well, and I know the Portland bus lines as well as anyone.

But a couple years ago, as I approached my late-mid-thirties, I got too old for retired from playing indoor soccer and figured I should find a low impact activity to stay in shape. I started to think about getting a bicycle. Maybe I could save money too by forgoing my spendy monthly bus pass.

I researched, asked my bicycle-nerd friends for advice, shopped around, and eventually spent about a grand on one of these babies.

At the time, I lived about a mile and half from work. Riding a mile and a half on flat city streets on a bicycle takes less time than driving a car, and requires about the same physical effort. A coworker lived on one side of the West Hills and rode to work on the other side. His bicycle commute was a workout. Mine, on the other hand, was a joke.

And then I had to contend with finding bike parking, and deciding about rain pants, fenders, or spending the day with a wet butt and pant legs, or bringing a change of clothes. It was a big hassle.

And having relied on TriMet and my own two feet for so long, I was used to not rushing. On a bike, you have to rush; you’re traffic after all.

I don’t like being traffic.

I started walking to and from work again. Walking was much more pleasant, and better exercise given the distance I had to cover.

Now, if it’s under 3 miles it’s walking distance. Over that I take the bus.

I have a different bike now, a $200 single-speed beauty with coaster brakes. On a nice day, I sometimes take it out for a spin.

But most of the time, I’d rather walk.

Filed Under: Bicycle, CarFree, Pedestrian, Portland, Transit and Transport

Comments

  1. Heather says

    February 21, 2009 at 10:11 am

    I like to ride unicorns to work.

  2. Steve says

    February 21, 2009 at 8:13 pm

    I heard that Portland was built on an ancient unicorn burial ground.

  3. Nevets says

    February 21, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    I do tons of walking also. Lower SE Division to downtown, no problem. Many times I start out thinking I will take the bus but end up walking.

    I bike also but I often forget to or it just seem better to walk.

  4. s h a r o n says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:27 am

    “coaster breaks”?

    Are those like coffee breaks, or bio breaks… or was that meant to be coaster brakes?

  5. Dave says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:53 am

    Heather, Steve – Fascinating!

    Nevets – Yeah, close-in Portland is so walkable that the only reason I’d bike is to save time.

    s h a r o n – Fixed! Thank you for your eagle eyed copy editing!

  6. devlyn says

    February 22, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    I walk a ton, too, but like commuting by bike, as I’m 5 miles out. Since I get to bike downhill all the way into downtown, I don’t get too sweaty getting to work, but I do get a workout on the way home. Oh, and I can carry lots more on my bike than just by myself, so I prefer riding my bike to the store. For most small trips, I still prefer walking – I get to enjoy my neighborhood more that way, and notice details I would otherwise miss.

  7. Dave says

    February 23, 2009 at 11:17 am

    devlyn – I currently live almost exactly 3 miles (according to Google maps) from work, so I walk and bus . . . I’d have to reconsider bicycling if I lived 5 miles out . . . though I’d probably only bike in good weather 😉

  8. Ashley says

    February 23, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    I had to comment, just for the title of the post! I spent about 10 years doing nearly all of my cross-Portlanding on my bike. Then about 4 years ago I returned to walking and was hooked again! Portland may be set-up for bicycling, but it certainly isn’t fun or relaxing. If it is under an hour, I’d rather walk. and I find that spending an hour walking to work I feel much more ready for it than if I spend 20 minutes fighting car traffic to get there.

    Sadly, now that I don’t live in Portland anymore, there is no where to walk to…

  9. Dave says

    February 24, 2009 at 11:11 am

    Ashley – That’s exactly my sentiment. An hour of walking is excellent low impact exercise, refreshing, low-stress, and you can go surprisingly far in that amount of time with no worries about parking on either end!

  10. sweetiepie says

    July 5, 2009 at 9:25 am

    I am just like you, I usually walk if it is under three miles. Well for my current job it is three miles away, so I take the bus so I will not be sweaty during the summer heat. I walk home because I enjoy the exercise, and it saves on bus fare. I used to buy a monthly bus pass, but since I only would take the bus once or twice a day the pass actually cost me more than quarters for fare.

  11. La Société des Monstres CélÚbres says

    March 6, 2011 at 9:33 am

    Lately, when walking, I have been trying to imagine what the place looked like without any roads or power lines and trying to imagine whether I think I’m moving through the landscape quickly, slowly, or somewhere in between. For some reason—probably that I’m a nerd—I always think of the long marches and miles the hobbits and Aragorn made in The Lord of The Rings. It makes walking even more interesting.

  12. John Andersen says

    February 24, 2013 at 7:54 pm

    I work for Trimet, and walk 6.2 miles round-trip daily. Walking is the total exercise I prefer. 6.2 miles of cycling is simply not enough exercise for my needs.

    All of that walking means I wear through heels in 2 short months.

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