i dont buy it. i bet he got off and walked around mile 8...
2010-01-12 15:20:25
8
Media coverage
I'm not sure folks on the board here want to see a link to every single piece of media coverage of biking, but this story seemed to have a premise so simple--the headline is "Guy bikes 11 miles to work"--that surely many of us here could have just as easily been subjects for the story.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2010/01/07/baldwin.bike.to.work.cnn?iref=allsearch
Do people think this is this "news" enough to justify 2 1/2 minutes of airtime? It's pretty favorable coverage, even if the "can you believe he's going to ride 11 miles?" theme does get a little old. What would call for a good story in the media?
2010-01-12 15:12:21
i think it's a good news story. it was more about the idea of biking to work, and how businesses can incentivize it.
no such thing as bad press, right?
considering it was probably followed by a car commercial or three.
2010-01-12 18:05:08
People always seem really impressed by biking distances. I bet a lot of them, even if they hadn't biked in a long time, would be surprised to find that they can easily make 11 miles in less than an hour.
2010-01-12 18:24:40
Yeah, people in my office are FLABBERGASTED that I ride twelve miles every day going back and forth to the office.
"It's six miles from your house to office? You are certifiably crazy!"
If I'm in a good mood, I point out that at my last job, I commuted to Sewickley three days a week. That totally blows their minds.
2010-01-12 18:33:26
Sounding like a perfect storm in his case. A few hundred dollars to drive weekly, he states. Then we find that there are some wide shoulders, open sidewalks, locker and shower facilities and he walks his bike into the building.
So he's saving hundreds of dollars, weekly, and has adequate facilities for him to travel safely, work out, shower, change and store his bike. Not too many folks can say that, currently.
There will be those initial hurtles of safe trips, showers/attire and safe bike parking that must be overcome privately and publicly.
2010-01-12 18:49:04
I love the people who think it's crazy but then drive themselves to a gym to workout. I workout to and from work when I bike.
2010-01-12 21:08:00
I think the media coverage is a positive thing. Thatbeing szid, I don't think it will change anyone's opinion about bike commuting. What will change people's attitude is seeing someone they personally know commuting by bike everyday. The same co-workers that used to express a sense of suprise and awe at my 16 mile round trip now don't even give it a second thought unless the weather is particularly nasty. And a few of them actually rode their bike to work a cople of times last summer. To summarize, media coverage is a positive when it comes to introducing people to commuting by bike, it opens up the discussion. But to get people to actually see it as a viable alternative takes personal examples.
2010-01-16 17:19:06