2 miles to work. Bike or drive? (home, dorm, college)

[4122]

If the area is bike-friendly and it's not too busy of a street, unless there's a bike lane or if you're in an area where you're allowed to ride on the sidewalk (if you work in the city, you won't be able too) ride your bike when it's not raining or in the winter. Also, if you have to bring a briefcase or a lot of things everyday, I would drive. The best thing to do is to test the route to see if it's doable and then decide if you should ride your bike to work.

[tribecavsbrowns]

Walk?

[long101]

If you have access to indoor bike storage, or you don't think anybody will steal your bike, that's the way that I'd go. I have every mode of transportation available (2 cars, bike, motorcycle, pogo stick) and I love not being tied down to a mechanical one because of the cta. Yea, public transit or biking might suck sometimes, but not having to worry about car stuff is awesome.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by jman07

There is free parking and easy parking at home. Would you drive or bike? I think driving is the best option because biking can be dangerous and takes effort.

My first response would be to say bike and here is why:

Summertime Chicago is awesome for biking.
Chicago is a very biker-friendly city and many of the main streets have bike lanes (e.g. Milwaukee and Elston Ave).
You may see things and places on a bike that you would not usually see in your car.

The only con is that biking is more dangerous than driving so you have to be incredibly careful.
I have been hit twice and have been biking every summer for six years, both times were by senior citizens. Never anything serious. WEAR A HELMET, and possibly some other safety equipment if you haven't biked in a while. A carabiner can go a long way to ensure that your keys do not fall out of your pocket. (I have lost one pair of keys while biking).

When you are biking to work I would suggest you pay special attention to the traffic lights. Stopping and starting will be the biggest energy expenditure you will go through while biking. This way when you are in a hurry the next time you go to work, you will already know how much speed you need and know when to let your bike "coast".

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns

Walk?

That's what I was gonna say. A legit 2 mile walk twice a day, you can almost cancel your gym membership. Should take 30-40 minutes each way.

[emathias]

The route makes a big difference. If you had to ride along some fast, wide suburban road it's probably a lot safer to drive. If it's city streets - especially if you have the option of bike lanes - it's a good choice to ride. Is bus not an option, at least for winter?

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by Freefall18

Depends on what your starting and ending locations are (and weather and other factors).

This is the best response. It depends on the situation, some streets in Chicago are fairly safe to bike, some are horrendously dangerous, so it really depends on your starting/ending points and what the streets between them have to offer a bicyclist. If the streets are dangerous (like Ashland ave, or North ave, etc) I would definitely not bike, if they aren't, then bike for sure.

Ed: Sorry to all the others who chimed in with this answer, I didn't go to the 2nd page and so didn't see them!

[jwaiter]

One of the things about living on the lake front and working downtown, you can bike on the path most of the way, ideal.

[Maintainschaos]

Walk or bike. After that I'd take transit. Driving would be the last resort for me.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

Walk or bike. After that I'd take transit. Driving would be the last resort for me.

I agree. With the exception of really hot weather, you could easily just walk that distance, especially going home.