So I've recently moved into a new apartment. One of the benefits of its location is that a mere 5.5 miles of bikepath separates me from the office. I'm seriously considering becoming a bicycle commuter. I've found some great websites on the subject, but I was wondering if anyone here has any personal experience with doing this?
No, I don't know any dirty hippies.
Not yet, but I can't wait to be when I move this fall.
Like you said, there's an abundance of websites out there that can give you great info. Even most cities' official sites even have biker info now, most notably San Francisco.
There's also a lot of forums out there as well.
5.5 miles isn't too long. You might want to bring a change of shirt for when you get to the office.
Saddle bags for your bike are good too because they wont make your back sweaty like it would with a backpack.
If you have to lock your bike outside unprotected, i'd suggest using a not so good bike that doesn't look new for commuting. Keep your good bike for when you don't have to leave it
turducken - Don't ride on the road and back up traffic like a fucking douchebag. Stick to bike paths and sidewalks, or don't ride at all.It's the other cars which back up traffic. Share the road.
turducken - Don't ride on the road and back up traffic like a fucking douchebag. Stick to bike paths and sidewalks, or don't ride at all.
Not really hard to go around a bike
I've been riding my bike for transportation since I was a kid, periodically there has been longer commutes. It's awesome, let's you wind down a bit, be outdoors and alone plus it can be a lot of fun to ride f you challenge yourself a bit. Good non-exercise activity too, to let you burn off some extra calories and flush your body through twice daily. Awesome knee rehab/prehab.
My tip is plan for everything and get the correct gear right away. If you show up for work soaked in sweat, or if the weather is shit and you're not prepared, or if you're not prepared for fixing flat tyres and other minor problems with the bike, or if everything you carry with you run the risk of being soaked/smashed then you can't stick to it.
You don't need a lot of fancy stuff but some equipment like the right clothes for your climate, some lights, a good bag and some small tools, is better to get sooner than later.
^ if you can't find a way to pass a bicycle safely, blame the road builder, or your own lack of driving ability. It is entirely legal to ride in the right tire tread area, and you must pass with a 3 foot clearance. How do you pass a car in the same situation of centerline and oncoming traffic? You don't. You wait until it's clear.
I suspect drivers inhibit your need to pass far more often than the rare cyclist. Perhaps you should take the bus and spare your nerves?
Here are some questions which you need to answer to get yourself started:
How are you going to deal with sweat? Shower at work? Bring a change of clothes?
Where are you going to store your bike? Inside or outside?
What will you do if you break down? Walk, bum a ride, or fix it?
1. Keep an extra set of clothes at your workplace.
Some people wear their work clothes on the ride in. Others change at work. It sucks when your get to work and are drenched in rain or realize that you forgot your clean underwear at home.
2. Keep and extra set of toiletries at your workplace.
Some people shower at work (or nearby). Others "freshen up". It sucks when you get to work and realize that you are out of deordorant.
3. Get a set of lights.
Even if you don't think you will be riding in the dark. Sometimes you will have to work late. Lights are not just for you to see, they are for motorist to see you. Use them when it starts getting dark, it might save your life. You don't have to keep them on your bike at all times, but you should at least have a set available.
4. Secure your bike.
The most valuable parts of a bike tend to be the frame and the rear wheel. Be sure both are locked down (IMO you should lock down the front wheel too). U-locks work best. Cable can be cut easily. Use either two u-locks, or a u-lock and a cable. Remove anything which is easily deattachable from your bike when you park it: lights, pumps, bags, sometimes seat posts. Even if it is cheap, a theif will take it if it is easy.
5. Carry everything you need to fix a flat on your bike all times.
This means different things to different people. You will need either a spare tube or a patch kit, a pump or a CO2 cartrdige/gun, and a set of tire levers. You may also need a wrench to remove the wheel from the frame.
Figuring out how to deal with sweat is probably the most difficult part. As someone else mentioned, backpacks can make your back sweaty, so keep that in mind.
As far as the actuall ride is concerned:
1. Be predictable. Sudden actions catch motorists off guard. Try to avoid that.
2. Be alert. Motorists like to do things like making sudden right turns. In most states you have the right of way, but that won't save your life.
3. Be visible. Use lights, reflectors, brightly colored clothing, or whatever. Just make yourself visible.
Do you have any specific questions?
Oh, and buy yourself a floor pump. Top off your tires every few days. This does wonders for avoiding flats (google: pinch flats).
Reminds self to never cycle in Turducken's town and hopes that he hasn't watched Death Race 2000 for awesome ideas on how to run over people :)
Oh, and WEAR A HELMET!
Jarva, Sim, and Androushka:
Thanks guys! EXACTLY the kinds of insight I was looking for!
Jarva, I'll probably be biking in workout clothes, taking my work clothes with me, and showering/changing at the office gym. I'm usually dressed pretty well at the office (slacks and a dress shirt) and don't like looking all wrinkly. Is there a way to make it practical to carry a garment bag on my bike?
Glad you found it helpful. I always try and persuade people to ride bikes instead of driving when possible. People would have a lot better health, traffic would be a lot safer, and the co2-pollution would be a lot lower if more people rode bikes for daily transportaion.
If you have an office gym where you can shower and change then you're set. Look into bike-messenger/carrier bags, those are the largest, safest, most functional ones for carrying stuff that can't be lost/destroyed in urban bicycling. You'll run into a lot of small problems in the beginning, if you're not used to bikes and bicycle-riding, but you'll figure it out as you go. There's always room for improvment.
turducken -WidespreadPanic - ^ if you can't find a way to pass a bicycle safely, blame the road builder, or your own lack of driving ability. It is entirely legal to ride in the right tire tread area, and you must pass with a 3 foot clearance. How do you pass a car in the same situation of centerline and oncoming traffic? You don't. You wait until it's clear.
I suspect drivers inhibit your need to pass far more often than the rare cyclist. Perhaps you should take the bus and spare your nerves?
I do blame the road builders as well because it is fucking idiotic to omit bicycle lanes on major thoroughfares.
And the difference between being stuck behind a slow driver and being stuck behind a biker is night and day...if you are on a road with a speed limit of 45mph and you are stuck behind some ass clown driving 35mph and can't pass due to constant oncoming traffic, at least you are going 35mph. When you are stuck behind a biker, you are stuck going MUCH slower.
I'd honestly kill every road bicyclist I saw holding up traffic if it were legal, or even if the punishment were only a $500-$1,000 fine.
Quit being a jackass. You are in a CAR...you'll get your worthless time back in a matter of seconds.
Always share the road and if you see a slower vehicle, it helps to imagine it's being operated by a loved one, family member or neighbor. You never know, it may be. This helps to calm the nerves, and makes it safer for everyone.
Let's move past this and continue with good advice and good manners. This is a good forum and it would be a shame to drive folks away with such loose talk.
Showering at work makes things much easier.
As far as the clothes are concerned, I don't know of a great way to carry a garmet bag. However, you should be able to avoid wrinkling your clothes by rolling them rather than folding them. Once they are rolled, you can carry them in pretty much any bag. As androushka mentioned, bike panniers will probably provide the most storage space on a bike. It sounds like you plan on doing exactly what I do, and based on my experience, a backpack works just fine (and you probably already have one).
If you keep a spare pair of clothes at work in a garment bag then each day when you come in bring another pair. Change into the pair that have been hanging up, and then put the new set in the bag to hang out the next day.
Inexpensive clothing steamers are also available for travelers. If you get one of those, you can plug it in and steam your clothing removing all wrinkles and folds. They might even allow addition of a de-ordorizer or something to make them smell good.
Obviously it's problematic if you don't have an office, a desk or a locker.
Your best bet would probably be, like others have said, those garment bags that roll up. Who knows....you may be able to fit 2 or 3 outfits in one of them at a time and only have to carry it two times a week instead of five.
I'm going to have many of these problems x10 when I start bike commuting, because I substitute teach, so I have no office, locker, gym, or anything to make any real use of. It'll be hard enough to just find a safe place to store my bike.
I may just eat it and drive to and from school and then just use the bike for everyday, non-work commuting.
Besides, in Allentown, PA, it'll probably just get stolen any damned way.
WaltJ - Your best bet would probably be, like others have said, those garment bags that roll up. Who knows....you may be able to fit 2 or 3 outfits in one of them at a time and only have to carry it two times a week instead of five.Many people will drive in one day a week and take their clothes for the week, or perhaps take the bus. Then the rest of the week they're free to ride.
Definitely sucks there's no good place to put your bike, and you don't have a locker. Businesses want to be green but they fail to enable their employees that want to help.
"Definitely sucks there's no good place to put your bike, and you don't have a locker. Businesses want to be green but they fail to enable their employees that want to help."
Very true.
Best locations for me are probably in the teacher's lot, where hopefully there's at least a metal fence, light pole, or steel gate to chain shit to. It's really going to have to just depend on which school I'm at on the given day. Luckily, I've been to most in the district, so I'm aware of what their parking situations are like. That doesn't necessarily mean storage safety, but at least it's better than leaving it on a sidewalk or amongst the students.