Hmmm, not entirely. Whilst I’ll give you that the basic proposition is somewhat bizarre, there is a gem of something in this…although I wouldn’t refer to it as truth!
I, a confirmed and non-politically correct petrolhead, generally argue that motivations for cycle use are more complicated and less altruistic than many would like to believe. Indeed I would argue that the starting point for some of the dialogues I read on this subject is all wrong. People are self centred…so let’s start with WIIFM…What’s In It For Me. Or me.
Leaving aside the fact that from time to time I actually enjoy the cycling I do (but rarely in the UK) my personal argument comes down to basic economics…the economics of both money and, perhaps more importantly, time. In truth I’m a tight fisted b….d and hate shelling out for the cost of sports centres and gyms. I’m also time poor, so cycling helps me exercise whilst doing something else.
Cycling to work, the shops, the flicks, saves me money. Not only that but, as well as not having to pay for the use of fitness facilities, and associated car parking, I also don’t have to allocate time for using them either.
In Holland I used to cycle to work, 30mins each way. In the morning I found that, when I arrived in the office, I tended to be much more alert from the off (although some of that may be down to the enhanced effectiveness of the first caffeine shot) and in the evening I found the trip home allowed some serious reflection on the issues of the day without the “noise” generally associated with an office environment. (I often feel I had some of my best ideas in that 30 minute period.) That was in addition to the cost/time benefits above.
Glen Lyons presented an interesting paper (I think it was an IHT evening event three or four years ago) entitled “Briefcase Travel”, discussing the lack of insight into the potential productivity benefits of, specifically, public transport use as opposed to the productive time loss of driving a car. By the same token I would argue that too many of the arguments in respect of cycling use ignore the importance of the “personal travel justifications”….the rationality of travel option choice, and the large areas of untapped potential benefits that are rarely appreciated and certainly not measured.
In my view there’s significant value in pursuing some research into the un-quantified benefits of cycling, particularly in a work environment.
Cheers
John Meudell
ps: I have long held the belief that, in discussions we get too hung up on the use of “paper” currencies. Think of the advantages of time…..it’s in use all over the world over, has the same conversion factor country to country, can be easily locally converted and depreciates in exactly the same way wherever the location. And you can’t borrow it so you don’t have to trust the bankers…..
Probably comes from arguments I had with one of my bosses in the early 80’s when I told him I didn’t know how much a project cost…but I could tell him how many days it would take. Given that something like 70% of the costs were assigned on a linear fixed cost per day, 10% on a non-linear cost per day, whilst another 5% (occasionally more) were fixed one-off costs, I could estimate the cost to within 10-15% just knowing the number of days. Given the only item of cost my skills and efforts could influence was time related, why would anyone need to know the (money) cost of a project….?
pps: I’d note my annual cycle mileage exceeds my driving mileage by many thousands of per cent, and has done for some years. So much so that when another driver folded my previous car up for me I didn’t use a car for some time and then bought a pre-73 (1954) classic which costs next to nothing to run (and spends most of the time in the garage). Looks good though.
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nick Cavill
Subject: Re: 'Pedal while we work' idea raised by scientists in US
Sent: 15 February 2011 10:29
the world has gone mad
_____________________
Dr Nick Cavill
Cavill Associates
Mercury Offices
185A Moss Lane
Bramhall
Stockport
Cheshire
SK7 1BA
t: +44 (0) 161 440 9127
f: +44 (0) 870 762 5091
[log in to unmask]
www.cavill.net
On 15 Feb 2011, at 10:19, Matthew Page wrote:
I couldn't help but notice this on the BBC website today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12453494
Surely they are missing something obvious...
Matthew
Matthew Page
Independent Consultant
email: [log in to unmask]
mob: +44 (0) 7947 140177
Please note my normal days of work are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday