This is a real challenge, as opposed to how many meters you can sandbag the swim challenge with the kickboard This isn’t necessarily an environmental call-out either, but if it makes one choose the bike over the car - all the better.
I’ve read commuter’s stories that they have eclipsed their car usage in a given year with their bike miles, and I know a few of us here have done this. For those who have, can share your story?
It has to be quite attainable if one counts all training distances too. Annually, I average about 10-12k miles on the car and for 2007, 250,000 yds swimming, only 4k bike, and an injury filled 700 mi of running - well below the std deviation around here - for a total of ~4800 mi. For those banging out huge training blocks, you can’t be far from your annual car mileage… And so a challenge is born.
In the spirit of a ‘challenge’, this doesn’t make us give up our cars - its just we need to make sure we up the training and maybe take the bike to the grocery store.
Not sure when I’ll start this but thought I’d throw this out there and see what the ST experience was and let ‘rules’ play out.
Yeah, I’m at around 45k a year on the car so maybe not the contest for me.
Back in the day before I lost my mind and left Boulder, I didn’t even drive my car for a year. I started it on the weekends and took it around the block or the .5 mile to the store just to keep it running.
One step further. So far I’m the only person I know who even parked the bike for a while and ran everywhere. From Dec 1 to Feb 20thish (I got really sick) I hung up the bikes, garaged the car and ran. Ran to work (3miles), ran by the store after work for the next days food.(extra .5 mile) Ran to the gym for a swim and weights(3miles) and did long runs on the off days, and added extra miles wherever I could. Snow, cold, dark, ice whatever. It was GREAT! Had wisdom teeth pulled and got a really bad infection form it. Thats what ended it for me.
You know hanging up the bike and parking the car for no reason and running everywhere is just badass. I bet running home from the store with eggs and a gallon of milk was a sight! - which also pre-empts the comments to HTFU after the wisdom teeth job.
That is a great challenge! I was close last year, but not quite. I think for some this would be easy (no car!), others impossible (traveling sales reps, etc.).
Pretty easy for me but it’s sorta cheating…I don’t have my own car. I had a 1992 Mazda pickup I bought new. I live 3 miles from work. Most things are close by for me (doctor, groceries etc). I live in Vancouver, Washington so the weather allows year round riding anyway.
I usually ride my bike ~6500 miles a year anyway so last summer, I gave my pickup to my son (I’m 49, he’s 27). My wife has a car that she uses for errands but I rarely drive it. The commute is very simple and I extend the rides for workouts if I need to.
This sounds like a fun challenge. I bet I can do it especially if I start riding to work the days I don’t swim in the AM, my work is only 2.5 miles away, if I have to do stuff for my summer job though (which is once a week) I have to drive 70 miles roundtrip, the pool is 16 round trip. I might have to start keeping track. Plus if I can meet this challenge I’ll feel better about the Trek XO-1 I am building up next week.
It’s easy if you live close enough to bike commute— I have a 28 mile round trip commute that I do 4x a week on average. That’s about 5500 miles a year of bike commuting versus under 4,000 miles a year of driving. Add in another 5,000 miles or so of bike training mileage and I’m more than doubling the driving.
Bike commuting has been far and away the best thing I’ve done with my life in recent history— Converting a 45 minute drive from my old job to a 45 minute bike ride with the new job was a great life change.
No worries here either guys.I don't own a car and I'll be riding across Nth America three times this year.It's interesting for me to see how many of you don't need to drive.I thought I was the odd one out.Now it seems I'm just odd. ;)
If I just counted in town miles (Durango, CO), no sweat. My commute is 3 miles, not much further to drive for 95% of my errands. However we also drive to Denver about 6 times per year at 750 miles per pop, so that kills my chance.
I figured this would be a rule of thirds. I figured 1/3 lived within earshot of work, 1/3 had a huge commute and/or work depends on vehicle, but its the middle 1/3 that I think would be challenged by this.
Just food for thought and I may start it at some point and report how it goes. My wife is intrigued and suggested starting with small goals like on a monthly basis and go for 50% of car milage, etc.
Like most good ideas, this one came about on a solo long ride on a frigid morning. Thought I’d finally make a contribution to the forum - lurker for years.
I drive my car 30,000 miles/year so I’m out Seriously though, sounds like a neat competition.
I’m only 20k/year, but my commute is a hostile 26 miles each way. I’ve biked it in the past, but end up having to take a halfday vacation to let out the dogs.
Swimming 135 miles
Biking 4,762 miles
Running 2,026 miles
Total 6,923 not even close.
I don’t get these responses. People talking about driving less than 10k a year? Sure I drive way less than 10k a year TO WORK, but don’t y’all ever leave the house after work and on weekends? What about going to races? I probably put 1000 miles a month on my car just driving to races. Then there is the Thursday night crits on the east side of town. Team meetings after work. Birthday celebrations, groceries (Costco! Try that on a bike). I commute to work on my bike several times a week, but my commuting miles are small portion of the actual driving I do. I don’t have to drive to workout, fortunately.
Still, if you are only driving a few thousand miles a year you must not be racing much, no?
Love this challenge. I’ve done it last 5 years. I work from home - and then most errands can be done on bike (post office, bank, library, modest amount of groceries, movie rentals, take out). I don’t bike a ton like others here (like 5K a year) - but drive less than 3K in a normal year. I figure win/win/win/win/win - get a few miles, prefer riding to driving, save miles on car, saves some $, better for environment - so I’m in. I’ve even ridden to pet store - and returned with pet food (20 lbs) - I figure incentive not to gain any weight (riding up a modest hill with additional 20 lbs on back). I sometimes coordinate with my wife - i.e. we’re meeting her mom - I ride down, she takes stuff for me to shower and clothes to change into. Then I ride back with her. Takes some planning - but well worth it (IMHO).
Before I worked from home - I commuted to work. I thoroughly enjoyed that as well. Good way to start off the day - and then riding home after work - good way to work off any work frustration. When/if I go back to office - I’ll definitely commute.
Last year I did ~2000K XC skiing, ~12K biking, 3444K running and just under 240K of swimming (yes, I train way too much, but half those bike miles replace car miles going to work or to the pool or to workouts). I was pretty darn close to the 1:1 ratio…so far this winter I am over 2000K XC skiing, just under 1000K running, and just over 1000K riding. I am ahead of my car usuage which is barely at 3000K for the first 3 months…but once summer comes and I do lots of tri road trips etc etc, that goes up.
In fairness, I do live 8-10 min drive from work using the shortest route, so my car miles are stupidly low…but I did turn down higher paying jobs in other cities or the other side of the city to improve quality of life by minimizing car commute time. Also, my son walks to school on most days, so that cuts down car usage. All in all, we set up our “residence” and “work” to eliminate car usage where possible…so it is easier for me than most to beat car mileage with training mileage
Yearly car mileage varies between 10,000 and 20,000K. For example, my 8 year old RAV4 has 109,000K (35,000K in the first year though) and the 16 year old Toyota Camry that I got 3 years ago at 170,000K now has just under 190,000K. So basically to get to 1:1 it ends up being pretty close yearly.
Let’s see… at 32 and never having owned a car I’ve got this beat every year. Commuting/errands/social, nearly all of it is by bike, even in the winter (currently in Madison, WI, although have also done it in San Diego, Chicago, and South Bend, IN). Those miles probably come out to about 3k a year, and then training is on top of that. I also do a fair bit of walking and occasionally run places, although that depends on the likelihood of my finding a shower at the other end!
as opposed to how many meters you can sandbag the swim challenge with the kickboard
I can’t imagine why people would do this. I’m a poor swimmer but I’d still much rather freestyle than kickboard. Even at an easy pace, I can get much more distance in free than kicking.
I’m assuming that you have no kids. If/when you have them, and unless you live in a downtown setting, in any North American city, you’ll need a car to get kids to various sports activities…that’s just reality of North American life…there is really no way around it if you want your kids to have access to the same sporting opportunities that other kids have.
This isn’t necessarily an environmental call-out either, but if it makes one choose the bike over the car - all the better.