The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: willow on February 10, 2015, 07:21:22 PM
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I have about a 40 minute walk commute to work. Which would be less than half that by bike but my city is not exactly bike friendly. No bike lanes, no sidewalk biking and the main road to my workplace is full of heavy traffic in the AM.
Anyone else here walk to work instead of the traditional mustachian bike? If so, how far?
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I do. Just started a month ago. It is about a 10 minute walk.
I was really sick of my old job that had a commute of 20 miles each way.
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I do. Just started a month ago. It is about a 10 minute walk.
I was really sick of my old job that had a commute of 20 miles each way.
So you just changed jobs?
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I have about a 10 minute walk to work, it has been great (I'm in a 1 year position that goes from July to June and currently renting a house). Will be looking for a new job soon and will definitely start the house hunt within walking distance if possible.
I have done both biking and walking before and definitely prefer walking. I think if it's within a 20 minute walk I would do that over biking. 40 both ways is a bit too much of my day for a really low intensity workout (I really don't feel like I get much if any physical health benefits out of walking, I'm 28), I would bike instead. Is there a safer alternate route you could take?
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I have about a 40 minute walk commute to work. Which would be less than half that by bike but my city is not exactly bike friendly. No bike lanes, no sidewalk biking and the main road to my workplace is full of heavy traffic in the AM.
Anyone else here walk to work instead of the traditional mustachian bike? If so, how far?
I walk about an hour to work every morning (an hour and a half if I take the wilderness option)
I could bus all the way but I like the peace and listening to audiobooks
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+1 to audiobooks. Even with a 10 minute walked I've knocked out several of these.
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I do on non rainy days. About 40 minutes with some good hills. Great way to get your steps in, see the city, and energize my day.
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I walk about 7 minutes. It's literally faster than biking (well, road biking. I guess you could mountain bike this, but I only have a road bike) because I go on a foot path.
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I walk to and from work most days, takes me about 55 minutes. I like it, it gives me time to think, or listen to my learn Spanish app or the radio.
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I have about a 10 minute walk to work, it has been great (I'm in a 1 year position that goes from July to June and currently renting a house). Will be looking for a new job soon and will definitely start the house hunt within walking distance if possible.
I have done both biking and walking before and definitely prefer walking. I think if it's within a 20 minute walk I would do that over biking. 40 both ways is a bit too much of my day for a really low intensity workout (I really don't feel like I get much if any physical health benefits out of walking, I'm 28), I would bike instead. Is there a safer alternate route you could take?
I don't currently have a better alternative, as the two main road options are both plagued with traffic and I can't get to my office without spending some time on at least one of these. I'm hoping for bike lanes here in the future.
In regards to the low intensity workout, if I said it's all uphill on the way there, would that help? It's part of the reason I don't want to bike, on a flat road I might be able to risk it, but hauling myself uphill with heavy traffic and impatient drivers sounds like a bad idea.
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I walk a little over a mile. I could save 10 minutes by bike but I live in a 6th floor walk up and it's nice to just walk and think rather than having to pay attention to traffic.
It's all the small mental work I have to do to bike that decides me against it. I have to be careful walking the bike down the stairs without banging up the walls. Dressing, the windchill is worse but it's uphill at the end in both directions so I can't dress too heavily, and then I have to decide about gloves because I can't just put my hands in my pockets. Then I have to detour a bit to bike storage when I get in. Since I have a secure place to store it at work I don't bring a lock so I have to plan if I'm going to go anywhere after work. And it's not as convenient to get groceries on the way home even though I go right past the store because I don't want to carry both them and the bike.
I actually miss the conditioning I got when I biked 6 miles round-trip to work. Now that I'm not doing it daily it's slightly harder to do it for longer trips where it would make more sense.
For a bit more exercise, I've started running the mile home. People do look at me a bit funny running while wearing street clothes.
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I walk .4 miles downhill to work and .4 miles uphill to my house. So 10-12 minutes a walk on average. Depends on traffic and crowds and how cold/wet/icy it is.
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I have a 10-15 minutes walk. Rain, snow or sun I walk. It was planned that way. I used to be over an hour away by train.
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My walk to work is 1.4 miles and takes about 25 minutes. There are no sidewalks where I live, so it's about 0.3 miles in parking lots, 0.1 miles in grass, 0.3 miles in the road, and the rest is "inside" (garages, buildings, enclosed walkways).
I tried biking in the past, but I found it much more stressful having to carry clothes and compete with traffic. It takes at least twice as long to walk, but I can listen to the radio and relax a bit more. However, drivers on campus routinely go 2x or 3x the posted speed limits so I don't feel safe no matter what mode of transportation I use.
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I walk 3 times a week or so. It's 2.5 km or 30-40 minutes depending on how much of a hurry I'm in to get to the office. On rainy/lazy days I take the bus which is about 15 minutes. My city is very bike friendly but I'm terrified of traffic so walking it is for me!
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I walk a little over a mile. I could save 10 minutes by bike but I live in a 6th floor walk up and it's nice to just walk and think rather than having to pay attention to traffic.
It's all the small mental work I have to do to bike that decides me against it. I have to be careful walking the bike down the stairs without banging up the walls. Dressing, the windchill is worse but it's uphill at the end in both directions so I can't dress too heavily, and then I have to decide about gloves because I can't just put my hands in my pockets. Then I have to detour a bit to bike storage when I get in. Since I have a secure place to store it at work I don't bring a lock so I have to plan if I'm going to go anywhere after work. And it's not as convenient to get groceries on the way home even though I go right past the store because I don't want to carry both them and the bike.
I actually miss the conditioning I got when I biked 6 miles round-trip to work. Now that I'm not doing it daily it's slightly harder to do it for longer trips where it would make more sense.
For a bit more exercise, I've started running the mile home. People do look at me a bit funny running while wearing street clothes.
haha, I've been wondering about taking off into a sprint wearing office clothes myself. Maybe people will just assume we're running late to work.
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I do. Just started a month ago. It is about a 10 minute walk.
I was really sick of my old job that had a commute of 20 miles each way.
So you just changed jobs?
Yes, I changed jobs. Not just because I had a commute, I moved 400 miles.
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I walk about a mile each way. Like Annamal, I have a "wilderness option", if we define wilderness very broadly, that also lets me hit the supermarket.
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I walk 5 city blocks (1/4 mile) to and from work every day with my 4 year old. I am a teacher, and he attends the school where I work. We walk in all weather and dress accordingly. He's been wearing snow pants and goggles for much of the winter.
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Just looked it up... it would take me 45 min to walk to work. Definitely not willing to do that with 12's though... I'll stick to my drive for now!
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http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/fuck-it-i%27m-walking!/ (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/fuck-it-i%27m-walking!/)
I've since switched to biking though.
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http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/fuck-it-i%27m-walking!/ (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/fuck-it-i%27m-walking!/)
I've since switched to biking though.
I was hoping you would see this thread.
I would probably walk at least half an hour rather than bike the same distance. Walking is less hassle and a bike ride that short wouldn't be any special workout anyway. Too bad for me that I'm too stubborn to move or find a job closer to home.
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I try and walk about once or twice a week. I currently live about 2.5km from my office. Other days I have client meetings I have to go to or my wife comes to work (she has limited mobility) so I drive. Been walking on/off for about 3 years. Some days are amazing (especially during storms on Lake Ontario). Last winter walking during -29 deg. C was less fun. Wimped out and took the quick way home that day... lol
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10 minute walk through residential neighborhoods. I regularly take a longer and nicer route that takes 30 minutes.
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It's all the small mental work I have to do to bike that decides me against it. I have to be careful walking the bike down the stairs without banging up the walls. Dressing, the windchill is worse but it's uphill at the end in both directions so I can't dress too heavily, and then I have to decide about gloves because I can't just put my hands in my pockets.
this is why I like walking better, too. I also live about a mile from work, so I walk during the time of the year when it's light out before work (wouldn't really feel safe in this area by myself in the early morning in the dark) yet not so hot that I would arrive at work a sweaty mess.
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Walk four-mile roundtrip every day. Great for the exercise and chance to think. Also nice to be saving the $500 I would've spent this year on a bus pass.
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Yep, purposely purchased a house close to work.
7-10 minute walk from front door to office door.
Totally kicks ass.
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I walk about 10 minutes to work each way, but then again I live on a military base so it's kind of cheating. On the other hand when I plan on moving off base next year, I'll face 30-45 minute commutes if I don't find a place within walking distance. I'm not looking forward to that at all.
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I walk to work. The office is 10 minutes away from my condo. Used to be a 10 minute walk to a train station + 40 minute train ride + 20 minute walk to the office. Glad that's behind me!
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Twenty minutes up a big hill. It feels amazing! I love it! If I'm going somewhere after work, I just wheel my bike up the hill and then at the end of the day I'm ready to zoom off.
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I walk to and from, about 20 minutes each way (15 if I needed to step it up). I prefer walking to biking as it allows more of a transition.
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I really want to be able to walk to work but my current (3 day a week) job is 20 miles away and no reasonable jobs seem to come up in my area. I'm still looking though.
I occasionally bike to work if I'm feeling energetic and the weather's not too bad. Takes about an hour and a quarter if I'm pushing it hard, or an hour and a half if dawdling. The drive is about 45 minutes. Happens less in winter but my aim, all being well, is to try and bike once a week. Think I've managed it once so far this year!
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I walk to the train. DH sometimes walks to and from work weather permitting, about 45 mins.
When we first moved here he thought it might do it all the time but it turns out the public transport in Perth is ridiculously cheap (compared to where we came from) and that extra time is valuable to us.
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I do, I do! My boyfriend and I work next to each other and both walk. It's six blocks from home, and they're "easy blocks" - small and no hills, nice big sidewalks, scenic route through the heritagey part of town. Takes 7-10 minutes one way.
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I'm a hybrid walker/biker. I bike when there's not much snow and ice on the ground and walk the rest of the year...so for about seven months of the year. My walk used to be about 1/2 an hour, with one very steep hill (1.6 miles each way) but I got a new job that's only 1.1 miles away with a much smaller hill to climb in the mornings. I love this walk, but I also love biking it in the summer. :)
Right now I'm spending my mornings appreciating the fact that the sun is almost starting to rise again, and reminding myself to drink in the stars and night sky because that sight will disappear in a few months.
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I moved over the weekend and cut my 2.5 mile bike commute down to a 1 mile walk commute. All downhill on the way to work and a nice steep uphill hike home. I love it!
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I love walking to work. It's a 7 block walk so it takes me about 10 minutes. The winter is usually the worst part of the year (rain/cold/etc.) but this winter has been beautiful. It was over 60 degrees today. The only downside is that I get called in to work a lot at night and over the weekend since my bosses know I live close by. Living within walking distance of work and the grocery store has allowed me to cut my monthly expenses by at least 20%. Traffic has gotten so bad here that I actually move faster than the people in their cars for my 7 block stretch if I leave work before 6:30.
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I take the bus in (because it's free through my job, plus I can time it right with the One Bus Away app), but walk home. It's 2 1/4 miles and probably takes about 50 minutes. The first two-thirds is a pretty good uphill, or else it wouldn't take nearly that long.
I like the exercise. I wear a Fitbit sometimes, and from their data I figure that walking home buys me 300 extra calories that day. Not bad!
[edit, spelling]
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Yeah, I do but I'm not sure i can be counted in as one of the brave ones since I work from home!
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I walked home from work last Friday. It was about 2 hours, with a 30 minute ferry in the middle. It's about an hour biking, which I plan to do once it's a bit warmer.
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I love my walk to work -- a little over two miles, typically takes me about 35 minutes. The snow doesn't usually stop me but this week it's just too cold to walk it, so I've been taking the (free) shuttle. The shuttle is nice in that I can read, but I'd really rather walk.
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7 minute walk commute here. Love it!
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My total commute is 7.8km each way. It would take me 1.5 hours to walk it.
I am waiting for roads to clear to start biking, currently it's all ice, snow and slush.
In the meantime, I drive half of my way, then walk the rest (3.5km), takes me about 40-45 minutes.
Feel much happier than driving half an hour in traffic.
Today is -20C with windchill :) Feels great.
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Stopped when winter hit full force, but when it's nice I'll start walking again. A touch over 3 miles, takes about 50 minutes. I catch a ride home though, I get off at 11pm and work is in a really bad neighborhood so I'm not to keen on walking at night.
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I commend those of you that walk. For the last 5 years I have driven to work, and its only two miles. I've recently started biking, and feel like such an idiot for missing out on this for so long. My excuse was that its such a short drive, and since I travel frequently, the difference is marginal. Idiot. Biking takes a couple minutes longer, but feels sooo much better.
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My total commute is 7.8km each way. It would take me 1.5 hours to walk it.
I am waiting for roads to clear to start biking, currently it's all ice, snow and slush.
In the meantime, I drive half of my way, then walk the rest (3.5km), takes me about 40-45 minutes.
Feel much happier than driving half an hour in traffic.
Today is -20C with windchill :) Feels great.
Impressive.
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I commend those of you that walk. For the last 5 years I have driven to work, and its only two miles. I've recently started biking, and feel like such an idiot for missing out on this for so long. My excuse was that its such a short drive, and since I travel frequently, the difference is marginal. Idiot. Biking takes a couple minutes longer, but feels sooo much better.
It does feel good. I sometimes still drive, just to change up my routine and depending on how the weather does. I do find that every day I walk to work I'm usually happier when I arrive at the office than every day I don't.
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I do, despite the Australia summer. It's about half an hour and I listen to a lot of podcasts throughout the week. Invisibilia, Freakonomics and No Such Thing as a Fish are my favourites, there's always some interesting fact to learn from them!
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I do, but I could throw a rock from our lounge room to the building I work within.
The bike thinks I've forgotten it exists.
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Eight blocks (half mile) on cobblestones, in heels. Love it.
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I do.
Of course, I work from home.
I've also had a 50-60min drive each way, and also had a 10min walk each way. I think out of them all I enjoyed the short walk the best.
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I've been lazy in the past and haven't been consistent, but for some reason, I decided winter was a great time to start walking to work more regularly. In Minnesota.
It's a shorter walk than it is to drive (like .7 mile vs. 1.1 miles or something), since I can cut across a park and use a pedestrian-only crossing for the one major road between my apartment and my place of employment, which happens to be the public library. I've learned that my limit is temps below -10, but even at below 0, I find if I dress warmly and listen to a podcast on the walk, I can even be distracted from how cold/windy it is. With the time I'd normally spend scraping the ice off my car, parking and walking into the building, usually walking ends up taking nearly the same amount of time as driving anyway.
Favorite podcasts right now: How to Do Everything, Invisibilia, Marketplace Money, This American Life, and RadioLab.
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When it's too icy to bike I find walking almost preferable. Simpler because no equipment involved except good grippy winter shoes. Here in Canada you need to wear flashing bike lights when you walk because it's dark in the morning.
Anyway, 4k or a little under 3 miles while learning Italian on the headphones or listening to tunes is relaxing. Always pity the car drivers confined in their metal boxes, confined by their car payments, by their lack of fitness, by their lack of imagination . . . Get out and walk.
Or in good weather find a longer route to work and bike it just for the pleasure of rolling around on 2 wheels.
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It's all the small mental work I have to do to bike that decides me against it. I have to be careful walking the bike down the stairs without banging up the walls. Dressing, the windchill is worse but it's uphill at the end in both directions so I can't dress too heavily, and then I have to decide about gloves because I can't just put my hands in my pockets.
this is why I like walking better, too. I also live about a mile from work, so I walk during the time of the year when it's light out before work (wouldn't really feel safe in this area by myself in the early morning in the dark) yet not so hot that I would arrive at work a sweaty mess.
Same. It's safe except for very late night and much easier to walk the 25 min than bike 10. Both of my workplaces are a 20-25 min walk. Plus I'm on a hill so to start biking on an incline is difficult. I'd have to coast down and bike up to get momentum.
My husband works next door to my one office and needs the car for fieldwork, so if he drives in ill usually get a ride.
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Great thread, and congratulations to all!
I do walk 40 minutes uphill to work, and then downhill from work, except for days it is raining or rain is forecast. Luckily I live in a country where it does not rain too often, even though the last two weeks it has either been raining or rain was forecast.
I live in the northern hemisphere, and started walking this past summer, right after I moved to my current city and started my current job. 30-35 C/85-95 F is no problem for me, but I stopped walking when it got colder. Then about two months ago, I had an epiphany: Even at temperatures below 10 C/50 F, which used to be my limit, I warm up after just a few minutes of walking!!
I also had the luxury of being able to choose my rented apartment after knowing where I was going to be working, and fortunately the second place I looked at was perfect, including the 40-minute walk commute.
I too listen to podcasts on the way. I'm a loyal chillout music fan, and the Below Zero podcasts (http://www.belowzerobeats.com) are my regular choice for walks to/from work and many other situations (walks around town, train/bus rides, and so on).
When I don't walk, I do commute by car, which only takes a few minutes. The car, by the way, is fairly mustachian (now four years old, small, fuel efficient, inexpensive, reliable, and I plan to hold on to it for a long, long time).
It makes me quite happy to report I spend very little on gas and that my cost for regular transportation has dropped considerably since my last place of residence and employment. In fact, I receive a transportation benefit from my employer, so I actually might me making some money off that (which, of course, helps pay for insurance, tune ups/services, and registration).
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I've got a 20-25 minute walk to work, and this time of year I walk every day. In the summer I prefer to bike just to get there quicker, but overall I do prefer walking-I don't have to worry about traffic and the cars around me, and I can listen to music or a podcast.
Walked all week even though it was -12F a few mornings! You just need to keep moving and you stay warm enough, although I did have some frost built up in my beard when I got to work :D
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Eight blocks (half mile) on cobblestones, in heels. Love it.
I am impressed.
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I've been lazy in the past and haven't been consistent, but for some reason, I decided winter was a great time to start walking to work more regularly. In Minnesota.
It's a shorter walk than it is to drive (like .7 mile vs. 1.1 miles or something), since I can cut across a park and use a pedestrian-only crossing for the one major road between my apartment and my place of employment, which happens to be the public library. I've learned that my limit is temps below -10, but even at below 0, I find if I dress warmly and listen to a podcast on the walk, I can even be distracted from how cold/windy it is. With the time I'd normally spend scraping the ice off my car, parking and walking into the building, usually walking ends up taking nearly the same amount of time as driving anyway.
Favorite podcasts right now: How to Do Everything, Invisibilia, Marketplace Money, This American Life, and RadioLab.
Listening to podcasts are awesome. I'm currently doing audio books myself. - 10 is pretty low, I usually chicken out once it gets to the teens. Though I did buy a balaclava hood and it has made a huge improvement.
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I've been lazy in the past and haven't been consistent, but for some reason, I decided winter was a great time to start walking to work more regularly. In Minnesota.
It's a shorter walk than it is to drive (like .7 mile vs. 1.1 miles or something), since I can cut across a park and use a pedestrian-only crossing for the one major road between my apartment and my place of employment, which happens to be the public library. I've learned that my limit is temps below -10, but even at below 0, I find if I dress warmly and listen to a podcast on the walk, I can even be distracted from how cold/windy it is. With the time I'd normally spend scraping the ice off my car, parking and walking into the building, usually walking ends up taking nearly the same amount of time as driving anyway.
Favorite podcasts right now: How to Do Everything, Invisibilia, Marketplace Money, This American Life, and RadioLab.
Listening to podcasts are awesome. I'm currently doing audio books myself. - 10 is pretty low, I usually chicken out once it gets to the teens. Though I did buy a balaclava hood and it has made a huge improvement.
I grew up here, so 'cold' is relative. I dress for cold, and usually by the time I get to work, I'm overly warm and need to cool off. :)
I typically wear:
A Lands' End women's down parka that goes to my knees, rated for -40
A fleece/wool hat with my hood up (I pull my hood down if it's warmer out)
Wool mittens with little gloves inside for an extra layer
Long underwear under my pants (usually corduroys)
Double socks (one wool, one cotton) in ankle boots (I'll skip the cotton socks if it's warmer)
A cashmere scarf (sometimes I wear two scarves, one for my neck and one wrapped around my face if it's windy)
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I've walked to work a couple of times just for fun, it's 90 minutes. It was enjoyable, besides consuming so much time.
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Bump. Was out walking in the snow today; balaclava hoods are excellent for staying warm.
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Bump. Was out walking in the snow today; balaclava hoods are excellent for staying warm.
I second this. One time I was rushing out the door and couldn't find my hat. I used my balaclava instead, which I normally use for cycling, and liked it better than my hat.
Incidentally, I still can't find my hat....oh well
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Starting next week I'll be walking to work again, after living too far away for many years. But it will only be for 1 month because I've quit my job and will then be walking everywhere except work.
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I walk, too, about 45 mins each way. I also do the audiobooks/podcasts thing and it is wonderful mental downtime. I also walk to the grocery store. I walk to the doctor's office. I have, on multiple occasions, done the nearly 4 mile each way walk to Home Depot when I needed to buy stuff to fix things. I have had them cut 8' 2x4s to length and then put them in my old Granny cart. And dragged them home the 4 miles, in the dark, partly through the state park.
They all think I'm insane. I think I'm a massive, total hardass, compared to pansy old MMM and his expensive bike trailer. Pffft.
What I don't understand is why biking is considered so mustachian. Consider:
1) Bikes, related equipment, maintenance and so on are freaking expensive. They are much less expensive than clown cars and their paraphernalia, but still, jeeeeeez. There are mustachians on here that literally own multiple $500+ bikes and think they're being frugal.
2) Walking is precisely as intense a workout as you want it to be, and capable of being just as intense as bike riding, of which precisely the same is true. You do this thing called altering your pace. Walk really fast, and you're getting a good workout, nearly as good as jogging. Indeed, you can go up to a jog if you so desire. You can also add weight in the form of a backpack, etc. Indeed, walking is less calorie efficient than biking: you burn more calories per mile walking.
3) You can take a change of clothes if 2) is a problem, just as you can with a bike.
4) Biking is known to have negative effects on female (and even possibly male) bone density, at least relative to walking. This is because biking is very low impact exercise (although I imagine it's not too bad compared to sitting on ones ass/arse.)
5) If it's raining you can bring an umbrella and a raincoat (wellies optional). If it's cold, you can put on a coat and gloves. If it's hot you can wear a tank top and drink bottles of frozen water. I have people who go all goggle eyed when I tell them I walk and ask me what I do when it rains. :eyeroll: <<<<sigh>>>>.
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I walk, too, about 45 mins each way. I also do the audiobooks/podcasts thing and it is wonderful mental downtime. I also walk to the grocery store. I walk to the doctor's office. I have, on multiple occasions, done the nearly 4 mile each way walk to Home Depot when I needed to buy stuff to fix things. I have had them cut 8' 2x4s to length and then put them in my old Granny cart. And dragged them home the 4 miles, in the dark, partly through the state park.
They all think I'm insane. I think I'm a massive, total hardass, compared to pansy old MMM and his expensive bike trailer. Pffft.
What I don't understand is why biking is considered so mustachian. Consider:
1) Bikes, related equipment, maintenance and so on are freaking expensive. They are much less expensive than clown cars and their paraphernalia, but still, jeeeeeez. There are mustachians on here that literally own multiple $500+ bikes and think they're being frugal.
2) Walking is precisely as intense a workout as you want it to be, and capable of being just as intense as bike riding, of which precisely the same is true. You do this thing called altering your pace. Walk really fast, and you're getting a good workout, nearly as good as jogging. Indeed, you can go up to a jog if you so desire. You can also add weight in the form of a backpack, etc. Indeed, walking is less calorie efficient than biking: you burn more calories per mile walking.
3) You can take a change of clothes if 2) is a problem, just as you can with a bike.
4) Biking is known to have negative effects on female (and even possibly male) bone density, at least relative to walking. This is because biking is very low impact exercise (although I imagine it's not too bad compared to sitting on ones ass/arse.)
5) If it's raining you can bring an umbrella and a raincoat (wellies optional). If it's cold, you can put on a coat and gloves. If it's hot you can wear a tank top and drink bottles of frozen water. I have people who go all goggle eyed when I tell them I walk and ask me what I do when it rains. :eyeroll: <<<<sigh>>>>.
1). An expensive upfront cost doesn't mean something is anti-Mustachian. You need to look at the cost over the expected lifetime of the bike, including maintenance.
2). Ok. That's all cool. Biking is precisely as intense a workout as you want it to be. You can do this thing called changing your gear ratio to purposely make it harder or easier.
3). Looks like there's no relative advantage or disdvantage here.
4). Please cite me such studies. I believe this is limited to women who are at risk for osteoporosis, but I may be wrong.
5). If it's raining you can wear water proof or water resistant gear. If it's cold, you can put on more layers. If it's hot, you can wear less layers.
6). In my mind the most important reason. Not everybody has the time to walk everywhere. It seems you do.
I bike 13 miles to a Korean grocery store, Hmart. It's the closest one that I know of that has all the Korean food that I want. I am certainly not going to walk there. My alternative is driving. And before you say "oh well why don't you move closer," let me refute that with I live close enough to work to walk, which I do on a daily basis, as opposed to biking out to Hmart once every couple weeks.
Try telling somebody who lives 8 miles from work that he or she should walk instead of bike to work. See how that flies.
And before you refute it with "well why doesn't he or she just move closer to work," realize that's not an option for everyone. What if housing is absurdly expensive closer to work?
The bicycle is the Mustachian solution here.
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1). An expensive upfront cost doesn't mean something is anti-Mustachian. You need to look at the cost over the expected lifetime of the bike, including maintenance.
A walker has no such costs, upfront or otherwise. Zero dollars, unless you include shoe leather. Biking is only cheaper relative to driving.
I agree that on 2, 3 and 5 there is no relative advantage. They are about the same. Other folks in the thread, however, had suggested that cycling had an advantage in this regard.
4). Please cite me such studies. I believe this is limited to women who are at risk for osteoporosis, but I may be wrong.
Both male and female cyclists have reduced bone density and increased risk of fracture relative to non-cyclists, and it seems that recreational cycling is less bad than racing (i.e. the less you do it, the better off you are). A few links to pubmed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24326929
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25706662
A review of slightly older literature: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23256921
Do a pubmed search for cycling and bone density: there's dozens of relevant results. I got bored after reading three with the same message.
An accessible newspaper report on the results: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/is-bicycling-bad-for-your-bones/ - also has some further citations etc. It is overly sanguine about the risks to recreational cyclists, which some of the above studies also suggest are somewhat at risk.
6). In my mind the most important reason. Not everybody has the time to walk everywhere. It seems you do.
I bike 13 miles to a Korean grocery store, Hmart. It's the closest one that I know of that has all the Korean food that I want. I am certainly not going to walk there. My alternative is driving. And before you say "oh well why don't you move closer," let me refute that with I live close enough to work to walk, which I do on a daily basis, as opposed to biking out to Hmart once every couple weeks.
Try telling somebody who lives 8 miles from work that he or she should walk instead of bike to work. See how that flies.
And before you refute it with "well why doesn't he or she just move closer to work," realize that's not an option for everyone. What if housing is absurdly expensive closer to work?
The bicycle is the Mustachian solution here.
I'm happy with the idea that using a bike to go longer distances is certainly better than driving a car. I am also not suggesting that walking everywhere is introductory mustachianism. It is long developed, big muscled, huge, throbbing mustachianism. I will allow you may need a bike for your girly-man trips to the Korean food store. But if you are only doing an occasional bike ride, you need one bike, not multiple $$$$$'s bikes, and this one bike needs less upkeep.
I am going to resist the idea that I must have loads of free time!!!!1!! It does take longer to walk, just not as much longer as people think, once you take into account preparation, parking, and so on. The four mile walk to HD takes a bit more than an hour: about 1 1/2 hours back if I am dragging a lot of 2x4s. I often do that sort of walk on a Saturday morning/afternoon, about once a month or so. I buy the items I need online and pick up when I get there. Given that this limits how much other working out I have to do, and I don't have to pfaff around with clown cars or even bicycles, again, it isn't much more time than I would use otherwise.
I'm still totally harder-arsed than the cyclists. I am the Chuck Norris of girl walkers.
[To be less silly for a moment: the actual point is that I think biking is considerably over-emphasized on MMM relative to walking. We should be aiming to do a lot more walking and a lot less biking].
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A walker has no such costs, upfront or otherwise. Zero dollars, unless you include shoe leather. Biking is only cheaper relative to driving.
All true. But sometimes biking is the only viable alternative to driving, where by viable I mean it doesn't eat up hours of my time every day.
Both male and female cyclists have reduced bone density and increased risk of fracture relative to non-cyclists, and it seems that recreational cycling is less bad than racing (i.e. the less you do it, the better off you are). A few links to pubmed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24326929
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25706662
A review of slightly older literature: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23256921
Do a pubmed search for cycling and bone density: there's dozens of relevant results. I got bored after reading three with the same message.
An accessible newspaper report on the results: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/is-bicycling-bad-for-your-bones/ - also has some further citations etc. It is overly sanguine about the risks to recreational cyclists, which some of the above studies also suggest are somewhat at risk.
Good to know. Though I doubt this can't be fixed with more walking.
I will allow you may need a bike for your girly-man trips to the Korean food store. But if you are only doing an occasional bike ride, you need one bike, not multiple $$$$$'s bikes, and this one bike needs less upkeep.
Why exactly is my trip to the Korean food store a "girly-man" trip? And since when did I say that I have more than one bike?
I am going to resist the idea that I must have loads of free time!!!!1!! It does take longer to walk, just not as much longer as people think, once you take into account preparation, parking, and so on. The four mile walk to HD takes a bit more than an hour: about 1 1/2 hours back if I am dragging a lot of 2x4s. I often do that sort of walk on a Saturday morning/afternoon, about once a month or so. I buy the items I need online and pick up when I get there. Given that this limits how much other working out I have to do, and I don't have to pfaff around with clown cars or even bicycles, again, it isn't much more time than I would use otherwise.
You make it sound reasonable when it's just one trip to HD. Imagine having to make several of these trips every week (such as commuting to work). Now it starts to be a serious drag on your use of free time.
[To be less silly for a moment: the actual point is that I think biking is considerably over-emphasized on MMM relative to walking. We should be aiming to do a lot more walking and a lot less biking].
No, I don't think this is the case. Walking is simply not feasible in some situations.
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1). An expensive upfront cost doesn't mean something is anti-Mustachian. You need to look at the cost over the expected lifetime of the bike, including maintenance.
A walker has no such costs, upfront or otherwise. Zero dollars, unless you include shoe leather. Biking is only cheaper relative to driving.
Actually don't discount shoe leather (or rather walking shoes), I tend to have to replace mine every3-5 months ( I think they have about 1000km in them)
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Both male and female cyclists have reduced bone density ...
Good to know. Though I doubt this can't be fixed with more walking.
Actually, that's precisely the point. Moderate to high impact activity does not produce the same kind of bone loss, as those studies suggest (there's one that compares cyclists to runners, etc). If you bicycle every day, and you switch to walking, which is moderate impact, you likely will have stronger bones as a consequence. This is probably more of a serious issue for women, as I said, who tend to be more at risk for osteoporosis, but as these studies show, it's a consideration for everyone.
I will allow you may need a bike for your girly-man trips to the Korean food store. But if you are only doing an occasional bike ride, you need one bike, not multiple $$$$$'s bikes, and this one bike needs less upkeep.
Why exactly is my trip to the Korean food store a "girly-man" trip? And since when did I say that I have more than one bike?
Dude, Chuck Norris. Or am I getting him mixed up with Arnie? It doesn't matter. I'm like, totally the girl version of both.
...and I didn't assume you had more than one bike. My argument was originally directed at mustachians with multiple expensive bikes - see 1) above. If you prefer, grammatically correct the above to "if one is doing an occasional bike ride, one needs one bike....etc."
I am going to resist the idea that I must have loads of free time!!!!1!! It does take longer to walk, just not as much longer as people think, once you take into account preparation, parking, and so on. The four mile walk to HD takes a bit more than an hour: about 1 1/2 hours back if I am dragging a lot of 2x4s. I often do that sort of walk on a Saturday morning/afternoon, about once a month or so. I buy the items I need online and pick up when I get there. Given that this limits how much other working out I have to do, and I don't have to pfaff around with clown cars or even bicycles, again, it isn't much more time than I would use otherwise.
You make it sound reasonable when it's just one trip to HD. Imagine having to make several of these trips every week (such as commuting to work). Now it starts to be a serious drag on your use of free time.
One could argue that if you live 13 miles from work, it might be time to move closer. But if you really, really are in the situation where you can't move; there are rivers full of magic walker-eating pirahnas between here and work; houses are like, real expensive, and sh*t like that; I am willing to concede that it's OK to use a bicycle. But if you live 0-5 miles, and many "advanced mustachians" live less, then walking is a better option.
[To be less silly for a moment: the actual point is that I think biking is considerably over-emphasized on MMM relative to walking. We should be aiming to do a lot more walking and a lot less biking].
No, I don't think this is the case. Walking is simply not feasible in some situations.
That's fine, and that's why the above uses the terms "emphasize" and "aim". The problem we're having is that so far your response to me seems to be "but sometimes you have to bike". This would only work as a response if I were saying one should always walk regardless. But that's not my point. My point is that all things being equal, walking is overall better for you (bone density, calories per mile, out of traffic/accident rate, mental health/downtime), cheaper, and not necessarily much longer. This suggests one should walk rather than bike whenever it is feasible. But MMM and the boards hardly ever mention it as a serious option. This is a serious oversight in my opinion.
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Actually, that's precisely the point. Moderate to high impact activity does not produce the same kind of bone loss, as those studies suggest (there's one that compares cyclists to runners, etc). If you bicycle every day, and you switch to walking, which is moderate impact, you likely will have stronger bones as a consequence. This is probably more of a serious issue for women, as I said, who tend to be more at risk for osteoporosis, but as these studies show, it's a consideration for everyone.
Ah. Seems like we're more or less in agreement.
I will allow you may need a bike for your girly-man trips to the Korean food store. But if you are only doing an occasional bike ride, you need one bike, not multiple $$$$$'s bikes, and this one bike needs less upkeep.
Why exactly is my trip to the Korean food store a "girly-man" trip? And since when did I say that I have more than one bike?
Dude, Chuck Norris. Or am I getting him mixed up with Arnie? It doesn't matter. I'm like, totally the girl version of both.
Apparently this is a reference to Chuck Norris that I am not understanding.
...and I didn't assume you had more than one bike. My argument was originally directed at mustachians with multiple expensive bikes - see 1) above. If you prefer, grammatically correct the above to "if one is doing an occasional bike ride, one needs one bike....etc."
Ah my mistake.
That's fine, and that's why the above uses the terms "emphasize" and "aim". The problem we're having is that so far your response to me seems to be "but sometimes you have to bike". This would only work as a response if I were saying one should always walk regardless. But that's not my point. My point is that all things being equal, walking is overall better for you (bone density, calories per mile, out of traffic/accident rate, mental health/downtime), cheaper, and not necessarily much longer. This suggests one should walk rather than bike whenever it is feasible. But MMM and the boards hardly ever mention it as a serious option. This is a serious oversight in my opinion.
Again, my mistake. Sorry about hounding you on this.
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A walker has no such costs, upfront or otherwise. Zero dollars, unless you include shoe leather. Biking is only cheaper relative to driving.
Actually don't discount shoe leather (or rather walking shoes), I tend to have to replace mine every3-5 months ( I think they have about 1000km in them)
I hear you. I replace mine about as often. My glorious epiphany was when I discovered that cheap sneakers are made the same way as the really expensive ones, and hence last about the same number of miles (difference is just design). So I spend $15-$20 every 3-5 months, and buy some inserts if I am having any foot issues. And this is just buying shoes more often than I otherwise would have to do (can't go shoeless, even with bike!). So not zero dollars, but still not very much, especially compared to biking.
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Again, my mistake. Sorry about hounding you on this.
You weren't hounding me: I like arguing and I think you helped me clarify what I was saying. Thanks!
Anyway, I fear I have misdirected the thread. I will shut up for a bit now.
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Again, my mistake. Sorry about hounding you on this.
You weren't hounding me: I like arguing and I think you helped me clarify what I was saying. Thanks!
Anyway, I fear I have misdirected the thread. I will shut up for a bit now.
Haha you're welcome I guess. And I don't think we misdirected the thread too severely...we were discussing the merits of walking. In a thread about walking to work.
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I walk nowadays. It's only about 15 minutes. Riding is a hassle for that short of a distance, and I'd rather walk in -10 degree temps than ride. :)
I do drive if I have to pick up the kid after work though.
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FWIW: it was Arnold who made the girlie-men comment. He drags it out against Democratic opponents in political fights. (Not a fan of the guy, myself.)
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FWIW: it was Arnold who made the girlie-men comment. He drags it out against Democratic opponents in political fights. (Not a fan of the guy, myself.)
Haha now I understand that comment!
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My point is that all things being equal, walking is overall better for you (bone density, calories per mile, out of traffic/accident rate, mental health/downtime), cheaper, and not necessarily much longer
"Not necessarily much longer" depends on the distance:
My daily commute is 7.8 kms each way:
Walking: 1h 40 min
Biking: 30 min
1h 40min IS much longer than 30 minutes.
3h 20min walking roundtrip is way too much for me than 60 minutes biking.
Moving closer is not an option (shitty neighbourhoods or really expensive downtown). In addition, our place is within a walking distance for my wife, we don't want to change this to make it a shorter distance for me :)
I am glad that walking works for you. I do love walking myself and walk every day half of my route for downtime/exercise (you can check my earlier message in this thread):
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/who-walks-to-work/msg559179/#msg559179
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I have about 3 minute walk from my door at home to my desk at work.
I moved closer to work with the goal of saving my valuable time on earth on not commuting. From a 45 min bus ride each way (in rush hour) to a 3 min walk. It saves me about 345 hours a year I can use on other things, but also all the money saved on not having to have a car or bus card and loads of money on working overtime, while my coworkers sits in traffic using money on fuel.
- I now have much more time and energy in my days
- Can work more overtime and still have more freetime than before
- Save loads of money not having a car
Its the best decision I have made so far, and I will never go back to the commuting lifestyle, ever!!
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I live in the country and work in the city, I have no choice but to commute by car (40 minutes). However, I didn't wish to pay for parking on site, so I park my car somewhere in the neighbourhood and walk 7-10 minutes to get to the office.
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I bike, as my commute is 9 miles just to get to the bus stop. But the other day I argued against a guy who was considering biking to work. It turns out he lives only a mile away. I guess biking would be better than driving, but I would prefer to walk a short commute like that.
Unless I'm walking up a hill or carrying a heavy load, I can't really get my heart rate and breathing up enough to consider it a workout, no matter how fast I walk. Probably because I'm a runner, too.
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I miss it. When I lived in DC, I walked a mile to work, almost completely underground (I actually lived in Pentagon City and worked in Crystal City, Arlington).
Now I work 10 miles from home and have two kids at two different places.
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My girlfriend realized about two years ago that by the time she added up walking to the bus stop, waiting for a bus, having to wait for a second bus because the first one was full, riding the bus, and walking from the bus stop to work, it would take barely more time to walk the whole way. Which she now does. 7km a day total. She is much more badass than I am.
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Less than a mile walk for me... purposely moved near work.
Saves a lot of money and you get some exercise... although winters can be rough.
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I do! it's a mile. I love it. I never learned to bike. I only work three days a week (long days). it would be hard to take on a commute after this luxury.
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I wish the snow would melt! My usual walk takes me through a park and then through a gap in a wrought-iron fence. It's a fairly common pass-through, but the snow doesn't get cleared, so now it's at a very awkward height -- high enough to have to seriously scrunch down and sort of crouch through the opening but not yet packed high enough to go over top of the fence (there's big spikes on top). If the weather stays crummy I may have to stick to the sidewalk :(
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I live about two miles from work, a 30 minute walk which I occasionally do. When I lived 6 miles from work occasionally i would run to work and have my clothes staged there. This was stretching the limits of acceptable personal hygiene, and as I am wearing nicer work clothes these days, I have not thought about walking to work.
This morning I ran 6 miles for PT, showered at home, and drove to work. Ideally I would like to stage my clothes at work and occasionally end a multi mile run there, but work has no shower facilities and stripping down and using baby wipes in the single stall restroom while changing is about the only other option I can think of and not too appealing.
Walking half a mile in the cold windy rain barely protected by an umbrella from where I had to move my car due to a parking shortage in work clothes and shoes was much more annoying than running in PTs before it started raining.
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I love my walk- and walk most mornings, and many evenings. I live right on a bus route, so if I'm running late I just hop on the bus.
It's less convenient on the walk home. Often at the end of the day (especially in the winter when it is dark) I wish i could just get home sooner! I often wish that my bike could just magically appear at work during the day. My perfect commute would be a walk in and a bike home.
I am also turning into quite a complainy-pants about the unshovelled and impassable sidewalks all along my commute. Its a busy street and really unsafe to have to walk in the road.
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I take metro to work but walk four miles - uphill! - home. I listen to NPR and find it a great way to unwind after work. And I've lost about seven pounds since last summer.
I also complain about all the unshovelled sidewalks in my neighborhood.
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Last summer I lived 4.5 miles away from my internship. I would bike most days, an easy half-hour ride. Some days, when I had to skip the bike for whatever reason, I would take the train in and then walk home. It was an hour and a half walk, but it was usually pretty nice out and I enjoyed it a lot. An hour and a half I can usually afford, but doing round-trip takes an extra marginal hour out of my day and sometimes I just don't have the energy for that in the morning.
I'm considering another opportunity again around 4.5 miles away, and I'm wondering if I might end up walking more. It's hard to justify 2.5-3 hours of walking a day, though, when I have other things I'd like to do with my time (such as the high impact athletics I like to do...) This is why biking will never really leave my arsenal - I can bike over 10 miles in an hour, but walking you're lucky to make it 3 miles in the same time frame.
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I'm quite jealous of you all!
Before I moved into a rural area (still, like, 5km bike ride to work), I used to walk the 2.5km to work/uni. It was AMAZING. I got to walk through a historical site (an old gaol/jail), then past a dog park (DOGS!), past a cemetery (an old one), then across a huge bus-only bridge (so, very little traffic), and then past a couple of lakes and playing fields, and then I was at uni. It was absolutely amazing. It refreshed me every single day, and it was a brilliant way to start & end the day.
On Sundays, the historical site had farmers/everything markets with folk music, fresh baking bread, fresh brewed coffee... Absolute bliss.
I'm still lucky that I can cycle everywhere in my new town (no public transport! and no car!), but I do miss walking in such beautiful areas.
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8-minute walk here (0.3 miles). I love how easy it is, but I miss the exercise I used to get when I had a 35-40 minute bike commute...
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I moved 10-13 minutes away from work (13 minutes going to work, which is uphill and 10 minutes coming home!) I love the fact that my 'hood has a Walkscore of 96, and my only vehicle is my Playmarket shopping cart. If my office moves (which it may in 2 years) and the new location is not within easy walking distance, I'll be retiring!
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Awesome to read all the walking stories!
I have a 10-15 minute walking commute and am the envy of my coworkers. I have a couple different routes I enjoy and I love the time to think, make a phone call, decompress from the day or run a couple errands by foot (library and grocery stores are in between work and home).
I love walking!
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I've temporarily retired from the walking-to-work community. I got a bike, for my other longer trips, and realized I like riding to work more than walking (it's easier on my feet). So now I ride, by a longer route, instead of walking. But I'll be back on foot once the snow hits!
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On alternating weeks I drive and pick up two coworkers on the way, and the other weeks I walk 15 minutes to the pick-up spot and walk back in the afternoons. I just started this a few months ago this summer, but I'm looking forward to bundling up like the Michelin man when it hits -30.
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I walk 10 feet to work - max. Depends on what room I was in when I decided to start work.
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I'm a stay-at-home mom, so no work to walk to - but I walk to Aldi to get the majority of our groceries (3 miles roundtrip). Does that count?
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I'm a stay-at-home mom, so no work to walk to - but I walk to Aldi to get the majority of our groceries (3 miles roundtrip). Does that count?
Hell yes it counts. Being a stay-at-home parent is work in and of itself, and a 1.5 mile walk with groceries is hard work, especially if the ones you're feeding are carnivors who also drink milk, juice, and anything else that weighs a hefty amount.
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I sometimes walk. It's only 1.5 miles, takes about 25 minutes. One of our criteria for selecting a house was that it be within a 10 mile radius of both our workplaces. I got the better deal, my boyfriend has about a 7-mile commute.
I used to run to work, but my knees aren't liking that so much these days.
I do bike more often though. It seems faster, though with the bike clothes and maintenance to deal with it might not be faster overall. But then in the summer I can ride down to the beach after work for part of my workout.
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I walk ~1.3 miles to work each way. It is glorious.
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Currently moving from my 15min walk to literally one block from work!
Yes, I am that lazy! But the housing costs are also 40% cheaper.
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I either walk with one of the two dogs I dog-sit, or bike. About 3.5 km each way. Not much but that short distance feels like an eternity on a bike at -45.
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I walk sometimes, it's about 1.5 miles. Or bike the "long" way, 1.7 miles, to use the route with the bike path. There're trucks blasting by on one of the roads I walk, but there's a sidewalk too, so it's not too bad, and there's a great park to walk through close to work.
A couple times while I was walking home, a coworker slowed down beside me and asked if I needed a ride, or "Did your car break down?", or "Why are you walking?" These are people who know I live close to work, unbelievable!
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+1 to all the runners!
After moving a few months ago I finally got around to biking to work several times each of the last few weeks, 6 miles each way. Long story short; the advantages or riding are not overwhelming in this bike-unfriendly area and after the time change riding home in the dark was sort of the last straw. I was thinking I would not ride till it was bright out next year but then reading this thread resurrected the idea of cycling to work after dawn then running home. The following day I would drive in and take the bike home in the car; wash rinse repeat.
Before this seemed a bit complicated, but reading this thread about the walkers, I think I will put this plain into action Thursday Friday when the weather is not shit. Walking 6 miles would take to long (maybe I am to lazy too :-) but I can run that in about an hour and I would need to get those running miles in anyway. I dont like the idea of riding on dark roads (I have lights but still) but I can run the sidewalk just fine (I feel more at risk ridding on sidewalks than in the road). Running to work would be a bit much for me now, I think I would just be to tired to properly function.
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I walk. 20 minutes through the downtown core. I live downtown on purpose so I can do that, in a city (Vancouver BC) with plenty of dense housing just outside the working core. (Our core is ringed by dense residential neighborhoods.)
I decided I was going to live wherever I worked, so I wouldn't be commuting. Plenty of sprawl here and people who are willing to commute up to 90 minutes each way so they can have a yard and a garage. They usually say "oh, you're so lucky!' when I say I walk to work. Eff that. I always tell them that I certainly feel fortunate, but luck had nothing to do with it. My proximity to work was *planned* and I live in 400 square feet instead of 1400.
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Don't know how I missed this thread. DH's work is 3/10th of a mile from our house. Yup, three and a half blocks. We walk up the hill together every day at 5:45 am and then I walk home and go back to sleep. It is up a steep hill, but I enjoy the stargazing on the way home.
When he finishes at 3:30, I walk halfway up the hill to meet him and we walk home together hand in hand. Our house is a ridiculous clown house with high CA COLA taxes, but damn, walking to work is awesome!
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I walk only 15 minutes and it is so much better walking than riding a bike. When I walk I can enjoy the weather and the trees, when I bike I have to pay attention to traffic.
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I do - about 1/6 of a mile one way. I love it. Makes going to work so much easier. Of course, now that I've been spoiled, it will be hard to take another job where I can't walk to work.