Well, we already know this ; http://newsstand.clemson.edu/mediar...w-mode-of-transportation-affects-how-we-feel/
Research Finds Bicycling To Be Happiest Transportation
- Thread starter clamdigger
- Start date
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I don't doubt this for a minute, but I suspect it's mostly because most people ride bikes for recreation. If you're going out on a nice sunny day to ride your bike because you really like riding bikes, then chances are excellent you're going to have a great time and I suspect that's how it is for most bike rides. If you're driving your car because you really need to get to work and back it's probably not going to be anywhere near as enjoyable.
Push the rest of the population onto bikes and make them ride them in the rain and the dark and I suspect the enjoyment ratings would plummet. My wife comes from a country where the majority of the population ride bikes as part of routine transportation and she really doesn't get why anyone would want to ride for recreation. There's no love of cycling or happiness involved with riding from her perspective. They're just a tool to get you from place to place and one that requires physical labor.
Push the rest of the population onto bikes and make them ride them in the rain and the dark and I suspect the enjoyment ratings would plummet. My wife comes from a country where the majority of the population ride bikes as part of routine transportation and she really doesn't get why anyone would want to ride for recreation. There's no love of cycling or happiness involved with riding from her perspective. They're just a tool to get you from place to place and one that requires physical labor.
That's sad to hear ... it's precisely the physical labor and potential factor of the elements that makes biking to work so appealing to me. Anybody can drive to work; it's such a passive activity, though, that I forget the commute as soon as I step foot outside my truck. However, when I bike to work - especially when I've biked there in -40F temperatures (or rain/sleet/snow/blaring sun/etc.) it puts me in the mentality of "I really worked to get here, so I might as well make it worth the effort". Plus it just gets the blood pumping and makes me want to tackle whatever the day has in store for me
. I inspired a number of coworkers to start doing the same; it was a great feeling .
I ride to work more often than not. I like to throw my bike in my truck on a Monday, ride the bike home and then bike back and forth all week, and then drive home with Saturday's bike in the bed when i clock out.....But BITD, when I didn't have a personal car/truck, I rode EVERY day. And yeah, it's a drag to ride in horrible weather. In those days, my only form of motorized transportation was a vintage Honda motorcycle, so if it rained or snowed, I was better off pedaling anyway. Yeah, when it rains, you get wet. When it's cold, you freeze. When it snows, you get wet and freeze. On a purely conscious level, riding in bad weather doesn't make you happy.
On the other hand, exercise has been shown to release endorphins, which will make you feel happy on a subconscious level. Being in good shape brings about many benefits, most of which will make you happy. I might not be in the best shape, but i'm in much better shape than i would be if i didn't commute by bike-- and I was in much better shape when i rode every day, no matter what. So, yeah, you might feel sad if you can't afford a car so you gotta ride in even if it's too hot or too cold or rainy or snowing-- and you might feel even sadder if you let ppl heckle you for it, or feel like your self-worth is tied up in automobile ownership. But, there are a lot of things to be happy about if you ride to work every day. And there ain't much to be happy about if you're a lazy slob who doesn't exercise, beyond pounding your fist on the steering wheel as you waste hours each week stuck in rush-hour traffic.
On the other hand, exercise has been shown to release endorphins, which will make you feel happy on a subconscious level. Being in good shape brings about many benefits, most of which will make you happy. I might not be in the best shape, but i'm in much better shape than i would be if i didn't commute by bike-- and I was in much better shape when i rode every day, no matter what. So, yeah, you might feel sad if you can't afford a car so you gotta ride in even if it's too hot or too cold or rainy or snowing-- and you might feel even sadder if you let ppl heckle you for it, or feel like your self-worth is tied up in automobile ownership. But, there are a lot of things to be happy about if you ride to work every day. And there ain't much to be happy about if you're a lazy slob who doesn't exercise, beyond pounding your fist on the steering wheel as you waste hours each week stuck in rush-hour traffic.
Some people drive to the gym and pay to ride a stationary bike!
Yeah, that'd be my wife.... who owns a bike and has access to my bikes. The gm is like 2 miles away from home!
If you had to choose letting my woman drive, you'd understand why I dropped registration on my vehicles. She is a raging maniac, never even sees bicyclists, if she does it involves a finger.
So there is the flipside, I ride to keep others alive! & that does make me happy.
So there is the flipside, I ride to keep others alive! & that does make me happy.
