Bike commuting to/from the gym - yay or nay?
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,968 Member
I've been using resistance bands for strength training, and I feel pretty limited. I have several sets, I use the strongest bands from each, I'm standing on a lot of rubber, it's awkward, it can be a challenge to do some exercises, I'd like to move to something better. There are no gyms in my neighborhood.
There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car. So I've got a few choices, and I hope people can give me some input:
(1) Use my bike. The gym says I can leave it indoors, in a corner, out of the way. But there's no guarantee it won't get damaged or stolen.
(2) Use a bike share bike. It will cost $1 each way, and I'll get a mediocre bike, with no power meter.
Walking would take too long.
I'll go three times a week.
There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car. So I've got a few choices, and I hope people can give me some input:
(1) Use my bike. The gym says I can leave it indoors, in a corner, out of the way. But there's no guarantee it won't get damaged or stolen.
(2) Use a bike share bike. It will cost $1 each way, and I'll get a mediocre bike, with no power meter.
Walking would take too long.
I'll go three times a week.
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Replies
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Option 3: Get a Craigslist beater bike that you won't care if it gets damaged.
I'd just take my regular bike. Life has no guarantees. It'll probably be fine.6 -
Yay from me.
There's always a reason for another bike in the garage - looks like you have found the excuse for your next purchase.
I use my old hybrid (a.k.a. The Boneshaker) for travel to my gym (and local errands). Couple of miles is a nice little warm up / cool down either side of a workout. It has Shimano A530 pedals, flat one side, SPD mounts on the other so if I'm doing weights I can wear gym shoes, if I'm doing a stationary bike trainer workout then I can wear cleated shoes to clip in to the Wattbike at the gym.
You don't need a power meter for every ride!4 -
Can you not lock it up? I bike 2 miles to the gym here in NOLA all the time and lock it up outside with no issues. Why do you need a power meter for such a short ride anyway? I ride my upright bike to the gym. There's no need to make getting there and back some sort of tracked workout. It's my bonus miles. Not to mention just fun and relaxing.8
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I try to bike twice a week to work which is about 13km(8miles) away towing a trailer with my 3yr old in it. On those days I do a bit over an hour at the gym. We don't get the same security issues here, I leave my bike unlocked at work.
But you should be able to pull off 3miles before and after a workout, just lock your bike and maybe do a little less cardio at the gym.2 -
Option 3: Get a Craigslist beater bike that you won't care if it gets damaged.
I'd just take my regular bike. Life has no guarantees. It'll probably be fine.
You know, the idea of a beater hadn't even crossed my mind. I'll see if I can make room for one. That would really be the best option.Can you not lock it up? I bike 2 miles to the gym here in NOLA all the time and lock it up outside with no issues. Why do you need a power meter for such a short ride anyway? I ride my upright bike to the gym. There's no need to make getting there and back some sort of tracked workout. It's my bonus miles. Not to mention just fun and relaxing.
I guess I don't really need one, you're right it's a short ride. I like using a PM to measure training stress. I have software that charts my fitness, fatigue, and form, based on how much power I put out each time I get on the bike. It's visual, and makes it easy to see when to taper and when to push harder. I guess these will be relaxed rides and not really contribute much anyway ... but it feels wrong.0 -
meganpettigrew86 wrote: »But you should be able to pull off 3miles before and after a workout, just lock your bike and maybe do a little less cardio at the gym.
For sure, I'm not worried about that. I won't be doing any cardio at the gym, I bike about 100 miles a week, and cross country ski in the winter. I'm just working out the logistics. 0 -
I love riding to and from the gym. It's a great way to get in some cardio with minimal additional time spent. I'd rather ride a real bike outdoors than do cardio in the gym anyday!1
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NorthCascades wrote: »There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car.
Just curious.
Why does it take an hr to drive just 3 miles?
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^^^this. 3 miles or 13 or 30?1
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NorthCascades wrote: »There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car.
Just curious.
Why does it take an hr to drive just 3 miles?
It can take five minutes, or an hour and a half. I live in one neighborhood on the edge of downtown Seattle, and the gym is in another. The gym is in a trendy part of town with lots of restaurants and clubs, and sometimes a concert or a game. Traffic tends to be a nightmare, and not just at rush hour.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car.
Just curious.
Why does it take an hr to drive just 3 miles?
It can take five minutes, or an hour and a half. I live in one neighborhood on the edge of downtown Seattle, and the gym is in another. The gym is in a trendy part of town with lots of restaurants and clubs, and sometimes a concert or a game. Traffic tends to be a nightmare, and not just at rush hour.
horrible1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I like using a PM to measure training stress. I have software that charts my fitness, fatigue, and form, based on how much power I put out each time I get on the bike. It's visual, and makes it easy to see when to taper and when to push harder. I guess these will be relaxed rides and not really contribute much anyway ... but it feels wrong.
Some of us are just slaves to the numbers.....
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I just told Beth that she needs her own bike so we won't have to rent one for her on sunny weekends... I'm only three inches taller than her, I could borrow it for a short ride like this.4
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NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car.
Just curious.
Why does it take an hr to drive just 3 miles?
It can take five minutes, or an hour and a half. I live in one neighborhood on the edge of downtown Seattle, and the gym is in another. The gym is in a trendy part of town with lots of restaurants and clubs, and sometimes a concert or a game. Traffic tends to be a nightmare, and not just at rush hour.
Yeah...had a work conference in Seattle a few years ago. We took chartered buses from our downtown hotel to a venue about a mile away. We were on the buses for over an hour to go that one mile. We had to beg the bus driver to let us out so we could walk the rest of the way.
Be careful biking on those streets. My husband used to bike to the gym several times a week and got hit by a distracted driver. Always assume that no one sees you.3 -
Put a beefy bike lock on a cheap bike and it becomes very unlikely someone will walk off with the bike because the effort to remove the lock isn't worth what they would get from the bike.4
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What are the public transport options like? Might that be better?1
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Rosemary7391 wrote: »What are the public transport options like? Might that be better?
Why would you take public transportation when you have a bicycle?5 -
TimothyFish wrote: »Rosemary7391 wrote: »What are the public transport options like? Might that be better?
Why would you take public transportation when you have a bicycle?
If you're not keen on leaving it where you're going or if the weather/traffic conditions aren't suitable. Definition of course varies person to person - for example I won't cycle if it's icy out but the trains still run.3 -
My suggestion: don't take the Cervelo. Get an errand-running bike that you won't have so much invested in and it won't be upsetting if something happens to it.
I thought all cyclists had multiple bikes. Maybe we need another bike porn thread.3 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I could borrow it for a short ride like this.
okay, but if it gets damaged or stolen . . . ? safety for bikes varies so much from place to place and even between neighbourhoods, that if that is your main concern i almost feel as if you'd be better off canvassing people who know the areas personally.
as far as 'would i ride three miles both ways and lift in between?' well, maybe not as often as i do now when it's only one mile. but i'm a heavier lifter than you might be intending to be, as well as a less-serious cyclist.
basically, gee i don't know
it seems like it would come down to the importance balance for you, between the strength stuff and your established bike routines. i always react really cautiously to change once i've got a nice pattern set up, even if the change is an evolutionary step that i can't really suppress. gl, anyway.
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Realistically, riding three miles requires less effort than walking a mile.3
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An hour to drive 3 miles? That's insane.
Sounds like biking us the best option for you.
I live about 3.3 miles from my. I consider that to me in my neighborhood. Takes me 5 minutes.
Roads aren't safe for me to ride a bike. 50mph speed limit. No shoulder.
And I go at 5am on my way to work.1 -
An hour to drive 3 miles? That's insane.
Sounds like biking us the best option for you.
I live about 3.3 miles from my. I consider that to me in my neighborhood. Takes me 5 minutes.
Roads aren't safe for me to ride a bike. 50mph speed limit. No shoulder.
And I go at 5am on my way to work.
It's really a shame that roads are designed so poorly that people have to have a car to get around. I just wish the solution didn't require spending more tax money.1 -
TimothyFish wrote: »An hour to drive 3 miles? That's insane.
Sounds like biking us the best option for you.
I live about 3.3 miles from my. I consider that to me in my neighborhood. Takes me 5 minutes.
Roads aren't safe for me to ride a bike. 50mph speed limit. No shoulder.
And I go at 5am on my way to work.
It's really a shame that roads are designed so poorly that people have to have a car to get around. I just wish the solution didn't require spending more tax money.
I'm more Intruiged that driving standards are so bad that a cyclists feels anxious about sharing roadspace when the speed limit is only 50mph. It shouldn't need investment in dedicated cycling infrastructure.1 -
Take the bling off the bike, put the bling in a box in your home out of sight of your neighbors.
Ride your bike to the gym and put it in a corner. It sucks to say it, but the bling on your bike would be stolen in a trendy gym.2 -
NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »There's a gym in Queen Anne, about 3 miles away. It can easily take an hour to drive, and there's rarely parking, so I'm not willing to do this by car.
Just curious.
Why does it take an hr to drive just 3 miles?
It can take five minutes, or an hour and a half. I live in one neighborhood on the edge of downtown Seattle, and the gym is in another. The gym is in a trendy part of town with lots of restaurants and clubs, and sometimes a concert or a game. Traffic tends to be a nightmare, and not just at rush hour.
Understood.
I spent 2 weeks sightseeing in Seattle a couple of yrs ago. Always drove by but never spent time in the town, so wanted to stay in town to really get to know it.
Stayed w/a friend in the north side of town. Forget the name of the neighborhood but it's right next to the cemetery where Bruce Lee & his son are buried.
Anyway, it was a challenge to drive around town from there w/o getting stuck in traffic because of the poor design of the roadways which funneled traffic to various constriction points at bridges or causeways in order to cross the numerous waterways.
Got pretty good at negotiating my way around town by car by the end of my trip but I could pick & choose where and when to do.
Got stuck downtown trying to pick up my friend after work once early during my trip and swore I'd never do THAT again!
So, I can understand completely why it might take an hr by car or bus to just drive 3 miles if you have to pass thru or by downtown, especially during rush hr.
Personally, if I had to travel thru downtown in Seattle at that time, I'd prefer to walk, jog or run because the roads are so congested and the risks to bicyclists "sharing" the roadway is so high.
Travel on foot would, of course, take much longer but you could try to incorporate it into your workout by running/jogging to the gym to "warmup" b4 doing your workout and then just walking home to cool down.
Just a thought.
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I think biking is a great idea! Good cardio and good for the mental health, just getting out and seeing the world. Win - win all the way around.1
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between June 2016 and December 2016 I was biking 3.6miles to the gym, doing an hour there and then biking the 3.6miles home.....5 times a week.
it made a massive difference in the results I was getting, weight loss was improved, fitness was improved.
in general I looked and felt a million times better than when I was getting the bus there1 -
oh and all you need is a bike lock. I lock mine up in the street outside the gym, surely a bike in the gym with a lock on is gonna be ok ?1
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