# You might be a commuter if.....



## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

They had the cyclist one over on general, but it seems like our world is a little different. I'll start: You might be a commuter if,

1. You wouldn't give a second thought about riding sick, you just go easy.
2. 15 mph average is great, 17 is scary fast.
3. You panniers have had loose change bouncing around for months.
4. You flip your riding clothes over when you take breaks at work.
5. You have a water bottle on your desk.
6. You keep a battery charger in your office.
7. You can recognize a bus by it's serial number.
8. Your bike weighs 30 pounds but it has a carbon post.
9. Spending 5K on a fixed gear steel commuter is justified. 

your turn.


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## kiwisimon (Oct 30, 2002)

You can tell your co-workers the wind direction without looking out the window.
Your locker is the only one that isn't big enough.
Your hair is always a mess.
You spend a LOT less on gas than everybody else.
You have freckles on wet days.

next?.........


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

your family never sees you coming or going to work in a suit, only in lcyra
all of your work clothes stay at work
you keep spares at work so you don't have to go commando again 
going commando isn't a problem
you never pay attention to the morning traffic reports
public transport / driving makes you crazy, angry, sad
public transport / driving feels like a failure or means you're really sick
you don't understand why everyone doesn't commute by bicycle year round in all weather
you always pay attention to the morning weather reports
you've heard that some people don't ride in the rain
you know steel frames can get wet and not disintegrate overnight
maintenance for the commuter is different than maintenance for the roadie/mtb
you have a dedicated commuter bike 
you ride fixed to do less maintenance on your commuter
you carry lots of tools and spares and can fix almost anything to get yourself home
you know there are way more than four seasons 
you have 20-30 layering possibilities for each ride depending on the weather
you look forward to bad weather to make the ride more interesting
you think that people that ride without fenders are either fair weather cyclists or just silly and vain
you can justify virtually any new purchase for bike kit as your saving thousands by commuting
you have thousands of dollars of bike kit
your base mileage is 4000 miles per year before you start "training"


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## Kolossal (Feb 12, 2007)

A. You don't need coffee to get a kick start in the morning
B. Ultegra is probably a planet and Dura Ace sounds like some king of super hero to you
C. 28s are insanely small tires
D. Commuting longer means more fun
D.1 Working too close from home is not a good idea: you don't get to ride enough to achieve A.
E. Riding a car to the gym (and then taking the elevator to the locker room) is just plain stupid to you (well, it is to me anyway). 
F. You consider a 200$ bike lock like a reasonable investment.


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## singlecross (Nov 1, 2006)

1. Co-workers ask if everythings ok when you drive.

2. You buy a great lunch with the money you save on gas to fuel yourself, not your car.

3. Your proud and self-assured to know you're part of a solution, not part of a problem.

singlecross


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

You know the guys at the maintenance dock entrance to your office building better than you know the guards in the building lobby.
You know that the chain on your bike should face the wall when your bike is in an elevator.
You know the exact moment at which the sun will rise or set on any given day.
You are willing to spend almost as much on lights for your bike as you spent on the bike itself.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

This is a very good thread and all the follow up posts are spot on.

For us;

The security guards notice if you are riding a new bicycle.
You have a reserved parking spot but don't know where it is and have never used it (Miss M).
You love bad weather because the MUTs are empty.
You have a snow bike that is always ready to go.
You have U-Locks stashed all over town.
The checkers in the supermarket ask about your health if you aren't wearing your cycling clothes.
You know the commuting schedule of dozens of other cyclists but don't know their name or where they work-and wonder if they are ok when you haven't seen them for a few days.
You know 10 different ways around the regular traffic bottlenecks.
Fair weather cyclists annoy you.
Your life is good.


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## Chris H (Jul 7, 2005)

bigbill said:


> They had the cyclist one over on general, but it seems like our world is a little different. I'll start: You might be a commuter if,
> 
> 8. Your bike weighs 30 pounds but it has a carbon post.


Awesomeness! That one made my day...

1. You're the only one that makes it to work on icy days because you bought studded tires for the 10 days a year you need them.

2. You leave for work extra early some days just to get some more miles in by taking a longer route (this really makes your co-workers raise an eyebrow too).

3. You own a lock that's worth more than your bike (and weighs more than the frame).

4. Your collection of headlights and blinky tail lights is the envy of other cyclist.

5. People at work don't think it's odd anymore to hear your cleats clicking down the hallway in the early morning hours, or see a grown man in lycra (or manpris, half-finger gloves, windvest, etc...).

6. Your co-workers still think you're strange though...


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Excellent thread*

Much has been covered already, but maybe a couple more:

Co-workers have stopped asking, on stormy mornings, “you didn’t ride your bike today, did you?”

You have to suppress a little grin when people start complaining about the cost and inconvenience of their parking arrangements.

You go to the old Italian barber downtown more often than you need to, so you can talk about cycle racing (Vincenzo saw Gino Bartali race in the Giro when he was a kid in Sicily).

You tune in the local newsradio station for the weather report rather than the traffic report.

You have to suppress a little grin when the traffic report is bad.


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## darbo (Dec 9, 2002)

You're the skinniest person in the office, but always eat the largest lunch
You are the worst driver in your family, because you have fallen out of practice
You have memorized the spoke lengths on all your wheels
The most expensive component on your bike is either your saddle or your headlamp
You know the exact location of your city's potholes
You have at least one story about blasting by somebody on a $5K bike
You have at least one story about being left in the dust by somebody on a gaspipe Huffy with upturned bars


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*a few more*

*Passing $3.35 a gallon prices on the way to work makes you grin.

*You look down on cars stuck in traffic on a freeway and you feel sorry for the drivers.

*Traffic is never bad for us.

*You know where every pothole and crack is in the streets between your house and office.

*You have transient friendships with other commuters you see only on the way to and from work.

*When walking in the city you feel a uncontrollable desire to sprint when you think a light is about to change.

*Switching to a 15 pound road bike on the weekends feels like you're riding no bike at all.

*You've recruited at least several others to ride to work also.

*You now feel it's cool to wear hi-vis yellow and orange, baggy shorts, ankle reflectors, mountain bike shoes and pedals, a mirror, bell, and have 6 lights on your bike and helmet.

*Your upper body workout for the day is hauling a loaded 30 pound bike up and down stairs.

*You've learned that a little sweat will not make you stink all day.

*You're the one person at the office who doesn't freak about getting spaghetti sauce on his clothes at lunch because you have 6 suits, shirts, and ties at the office.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

a few more of mine:

People don't bring me stuff to sign when I first get to work. I might drip sweat on it.

The wheelsucker commuter gets mad when you don't point out a hole. I know where they are, I just automatically steer around them.

When your morning routine is a ritual, any little thing will upset it all.


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## KeeponTrekkin (Aug 29, 2002)

*more...*

Your co-workers come to you for a reliable weather forecast.

You've demonstrated flat tire fixing to your co-workers at your desk.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

You often have great parking spots waiting for you. Right near the door.
You can accurately estimate how many groceries will fit into your backpack while shopping.
You have a great outdoor view of the sun rising and setting.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

A "flat" on the way to work only delays you about 5 minutes.
Your shoes are louder than high heels, and no one notices anymore.
You never once look online for a traffic report.
You _always_ get the best parking space.


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

It might rain, so others offer you a ride home. When you politely decline, they say "You are miising out on an opportunity" and you think, Nothing like a tail wind and an opportunity to get wet.

Most of the others are covered already. I definitely like the not worrying aboug parking, nd the less frequent stops at the gas station.


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

Great ones so far! Here's some more:

One wall of your cube/office has marks from having a bike leaned against it
Your commute bike gets all the maintenance/attention it needs, but nothing more
You make sure to stay properly hydrated through the late afternoon before heading home
You ride right through broken glass
If you don't manage to ride over the weekend, it's no big deal


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

I have more:

your calendar is marked for the days you charge your battery.

you spend twenty minutes finding your car keys.

at lunch you instinctively walk past your bike and give the tires a squeeze. Wash your hands. 

you learn to ignore the people who want to pick up your bike to see how light it is.

you silently smirk when someone places their hand on your saddle while they talk to you. Tell them to wash their hands.

you eat two meals a day at your desk.

you know who to say "on your left" to and who not to. 

you learn to recognize the cars that will let you into traffic. You wave at them.

you have to explain that although you can get to work in 45 minutes, your co-worker might have to build up to it. 

your desk has several ziplock bags containing various stuff such as wallet, keys, phone, etc.


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## knucklesandwich (Feb 23, 2007)

- Rainy days mean less joggers and goofy roadies on the bike paths.
- You have no problem walking thru your office in spandex tights.
- Coworkers sometimes point out that you forgot to turn off the blinkie attached to your messenger bag.


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## Farmertan (Feb 5, 2005)

- You take pictures of your commute to "share" with others.
- You wave


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## fastfullback (Feb 9, 2005)

1. You look like a lobotomy patient after taking off your cycling cap, but your co-workers just say, "How was the ride?"
2. After a long day at the office, you ask the wife if you can take the long way home.


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## Chase15.5 (Feb 17, 2005)

- you choose between geared or fixed based on headwinds
- you smile as you blow by cars stuck in traffic
- you don't want to move closer to work because it will mess up your commuting miles


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## lancezneighbor (May 4, 2002)

Kolossal said:


> A. You don't need coffee to get a kick start in the morning
> B. Ultegra is probably a planet and Dura Ace sounds like some king of super hero to you
> C. 28s are insanely small tires
> D. Commuting longer means more fun
> ...


200.00 bike lock? Which is that?


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## StageHand (Dec 27, 2002)

When you ride without a bag/rack/trailer, you feel like something's missing


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

*You might be a commuter if*

You shave your head to avoid having to take care of hair at work.

The people who get to work early know to watch out for you on the road, and know not to honk as they pass.

You have a dedicated parking spot, inside the building.

Everyone at work knows that just because your car isn't there, doesn't mean that you aren't.

If you do drive to work, people ask why.

You have a dedicated changing/storage room at work. Nobody else does.


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

1) You keep "checking" the rearview mirror that's *not* attached to your glasses as you walk thru work & stores.

2) You stop drinking *any*thing for the last hour before you leave work, & then pee twice in 15 minutes to make sure your bladder won't be full at the 1/2-way point of your commute.

3) You find yourself riding harder when you're passing gridlocked cars than when they're passing you.

4) You have "drying areas" around your cubicle for your bike clothes & towels.

5) As the sun begins rising earlier, you find yourself in a dilemma over whether to use the "real" front light or just go with annoying yellow blinkie.

6) "Improved flat protection" becomes more important than "lower rolling resistance."

7) During season changes, you carry twice as much bike clothing as you do work clothing.

8) You ride the exhaust-choked main arteries 'cuz you feel way safer on 6 ft wide shoulders than you do riding in traffic on designated neighborhood _bike routes_ with only a "no guarantee of pavement beyond this" line.

9) You've worn an article of bike clothing all day at work 'cuz you forgot the corresponding piece of work clothing.

10) You shower in facilities you would've never considered usable prior to commuting.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Eiron said:


> 110) You shower in facilities you would've never considered usable prior to commuting.


"Shower facitities!" Do you mean using the men's room sink while you are stripped half naked? A co-worker who saw me dunk my sweaty, shaved head under the faucet in the men's room sink on summer morning said: "Now I know why you shave your head."


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

Ha, no.... 

Actually, I was thinking of one job that had a few individual restrooms with a shower stall adjacent to the toilet. _"Mmmm... lovely!"_ 

I was also thinking of my current job, where I had to use a tile knife to scrape large, brown, hardened masses off the floor of the shower stall 'cuz the facilities people were using it as a maintenance closet. (They couldn't understand why anybody would want to take a shower at work.) It's a 3.5x10 room with the gas-fired water heater right inside the doorway. It's usable now, but _man_, does it ever get hot when the furnace kicks on! (Usually about 1/2-way thru the shower.)

Our GM does the sink-bath thang. He doesn't understand why anyone would "need" a shower, either. I'm usually pretty gooey by the time I get to work. I guess I'm just a sweater....


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## superjohnny (May 16, 2006)

Your car is sitting in front of the house and doesn't run because it hasn't been started in 2 months.

You're thinking of selling your car because you never use it anyway.
***Speaking of which, I could buy a dedicated roadie for the $3k it's worth, hmmm...***

Bad traffic, no traffic or pile-up... 1 hour commute.

You have a towel hanging in your cube.

2 pair of pants, 4 shirts, 2 pair of undies, 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of shoes, and a full compliment of toiletries in the desk drawer... always.

edit: I don't care what it weighs, WOOL WOOL WOOL!

edit #2: Spending $100 on a pair of pants and $15 on a pair of socks is reasonable and justifiable.


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## Chris H (Jul 7, 2005)

superjohnny said:


> Your car is sitting in front of the house and doesn't run because it hasn't been started in 2 months.
> 
> You're thinking of selling your car because you never use it anyway.
> ***Speaking of which, I could buy a dedicated roadie for the $3k it's worth, hmmm...***


Sad thing is, this is absolutely true. I did it last year. One of the best decisions I've made in a long time.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Eiron said:


> Ha, no....
> 
> Our GM does the sink-bath thang. He doesn't understand why anyone would "need" a shower, either. I'm usually pretty gooey by the time I get to work. I guess I'm just a sweater....


Oh, I NEED a shower. But, I just don't have access to one so I do the best that I can. Fortunately, my commute is largely downhill in the morning so even in the summer I usually am fairly sweat-free when I get to work. I take a shower at home just before I leave for work and I think that makes a big difference.

When we moved into our current office suite about six years ago, I asked whether the building management would build a shower on our floor -- they had no problem putting in plumbing for the office's kitchen area and there was a good space adjacent to the kitchen area for a shower room/dressing area. The landlord said that it would be impossible to do the plumbing work for a shower in the building (we're on the 21st floor of a highrise building that is about 30 years old). Then the landlord came up with some outrageous price tag (like $10,000) for the shower installation and my partners were unwilling to split the cost for "Mark's shower." If anyone around here has a problem with my bird-bath shower, they know better than to say anything about it.


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## mschol17 (Jun 11, 2006)

-Your car was stolen on Sunday night, but you didn't realize it until Friday afternoon.
-You didn't bother buying a new car... why would you when you can buy a SON with the insurance money?


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## mtbnutty (Feb 13, 2003)

- Your wife can determine if it's a bike commute day or not by your morning mood.


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## Voltes5 (Apr 2, 2007)

---> You have a box of rubber bands at home.
----> You keep an extra on your rear pocket.
-----> You use your rubber bands when commuting on your pants.
------>You eat alot of bananas.
--------->You have an extra deodorant on your bag and locker room.
----------->You know every bike shops in the area.
-------------->You get paranoid everytime there is a car, truck, bus behind you when they are turning right while you are on the right side lane of the road, because those vehicles don't slow down.
----------------->You eat two meals for lunch and never gain weight PRICELESS.


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## mquetel (Apr 2, 2006)

You feel an urge to hit the apex of turns while walking through corridors of your office building...


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## ryan_a (Apr 21, 2007)

I have a small pickup with a camper shell.

After commuting frequently I seem really paranoid checking my blindspots and get frustrated that it is not as simple as just looking over my shoulder.

You disobey some traffic laws in a car because you haven't had to exercise them in so long... (I have blown past the meter light on the on-ramp to the freeway 'cause it was 2 weeks since I drove on it. )....


You see some nice short cuts that you would have taken on your bike (i.e. through the park etc.) and almost accidentally make the turn in your car, but realize that you would be driving through the middle of an area not meant for cars.


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