Quality of life can be looked at as the gap between what we hope for and expectation and our present experiences.
I have commuted by car, transit, and bike; here are my experiences with each of the modes of transportation as it relates to quality of life.
Driving a Car to Work For the first job of my career, I started driving to work, because this was what was expected-if you have a job, you have a car to get you there.
My expectation was that I was going to get in my car and drive to the office; I didn't think about it much, though.
I hoped that I would get to work on time and without a lot of trouble, and that my wife would be happy at home with the baby.
My experience was that traffic was yucky, parking was bad, and my wife was trapped at home.
Quality of life with driving: big gaps between expectation, hopes, and experience.
Taking the Bus My expectation with mass transit was that I would walk to the bus stop, get on, and arrive work.
My hope was that having a car would make the wife happy, that I would enjoy riding the bus, and that I wouldn't have to worry about parking.
My experience taking transit was that I usually left the house at a run (being late) to my stop (then walked back home because I missed the bus), enjoyed a book on my 55 minute ride to work, and arrived ready for a my day.
My wife was happy and I did not have to look for parking.
However, but my schedule was not my own, I gained 40 pounds and felt increasingly unhealthy.
Also, the price doubled in price during my time on the bus.
Quality of life with transit: There were fewer gaps at the beginning, but as I grew in knowledge and experience, gaps appeared.
Riding a Bike to Work My expectation for riding to work was that it would take a long time, I would get tired, sweaty and sore, and I would not be able to ride in winter.
My hope was that I would save money and get healthier.
My experience riding a bike was that it eventually took less time to get to work than the bus, that I became a lot more healthy, and I saved a lot of money.
I wasn't as tired, sweaty or sores, and I was able to bike almost all year around.
Quality of life with a bike: Some gaps, but they were positive, and there was more...
Going into my biking to work experiment, I could not have imagined how pleasurable riding would be.
I could not have known how empowering; and could not have foreseen how it connected it would make me feel or how much it would be.
You can find more information about riding a bike to work at http://www.
biketoworkblog.
com.
The Bike to Work Blog is dedicated to providing resources to helping you decide if biking to work is right for you.
Start enjoying the bike commuting today.
I have commuted by car, transit, and bike; here are my experiences with each of the modes of transportation as it relates to quality of life.
Driving a Car to Work For the first job of my career, I started driving to work, because this was what was expected-if you have a job, you have a car to get you there.
My expectation was that I was going to get in my car and drive to the office; I didn't think about it much, though.
I hoped that I would get to work on time and without a lot of trouble, and that my wife would be happy at home with the baby.
My experience was that traffic was yucky, parking was bad, and my wife was trapped at home.
Quality of life with driving: big gaps between expectation, hopes, and experience.
Taking the Bus My expectation with mass transit was that I would walk to the bus stop, get on, and arrive work.
My hope was that having a car would make the wife happy, that I would enjoy riding the bus, and that I wouldn't have to worry about parking.
My experience taking transit was that I usually left the house at a run (being late) to my stop (then walked back home because I missed the bus), enjoyed a book on my 55 minute ride to work, and arrived ready for a my day.
My wife was happy and I did not have to look for parking.
However, but my schedule was not my own, I gained 40 pounds and felt increasingly unhealthy.
Also, the price doubled in price during my time on the bus.
Quality of life with transit: There were fewer gaps at the beginning, but as I grew in knowledge and experience, gaps appeared.
Riding a Bike to Work My expectation for riding to work was that it would take a long time, I would get tired, sweaty and sore, and I would not be able to ride in winter.
My hope was that I would save money and get healthier.
My experience riding a bike was that it eventually took less time to get to work than the bus, that I became a lot more healthy, and I saved a lot of money.
I wasn't as tired, sweaty or sores, and I was able to bike almost all year around.
Quality of life with a bike: Some gaps, but they were positive, and there was more...
Going into my biking to work experiment, I could not have imagined how pleasurable riding would be.
I could not have known how empowering; and could not have foreseen how it connected it would make me feel or how much it would be.
You can find more information about riding a bike to work at http://www.
biketoworkblog.
com.
The Bike to Work Blog is dedicated to providing resources to helping you decide if biking to work is right for you.
Start enjoying the bike commuting today.
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