Commuting - Starting Monday I have to commute to work.

My company changed our hours during training from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm to 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Because my wife & I have & need only one vehicle & she works 8:00 to 5:00 I am going to have to commute via my bike to work. Hopefully after training I will get the shift I want that I bid for, (I'm in a union), so this will not be an issue & I can continue to take my wife to work then myself or vice versa. I don't mind commuting to work on my bike, but my wife & I like to spend the time together in our Jeep on the way to work, it is just something we have always done.

I have a route planned out & am going to ride it today to see how long it takes so I know how early to leave in the morning. It is about 15 miles. Most of the route is literally up hill. I ride a Vision R40 recumbent so it is a little slower going then a wedgie or diamond frame style bike. Thankfully I am allowed a great safe place inside the building to "park" my bike. I have already cleared this with the managment. If they had given me grief about it I would have gone to my union rep. & asked for their help, after all the company went back on their word regarding the hours of training which the union is not happy about, especially since it was documented on paper what the hours were supposed to be before we all started, there are about 200 of us that this affects.

I am able to leave a pair of shoes at my office, I will wear the cycling socks all day, but I am going to have to & am able to carry clean jeans, shirt, underwear & a package of baby wipes in my seat bag so I can change. There will just be enough room for a lunch. I hope to be able to carry enough items so I can just make my lunch there on a daily basis. I'll have to see what happens after this first week. There might be a day I have off I can drive some things down there to store in my office or the fridge.

I have some questions for those who are commuting veterans. What kind of lunch do you pack on you or your bike? Or do you ride your bike someplace for lunch? Do you have enough time to change back into your bike cloths to do this? I know I could but would rather not ride in my street cloths. For one this time of the year is hot & humid. Or do you ride with someone else in their vehicle to lunch?

Also any other advice is needed & welcomed.

Thank you.

John

I've packed sandwiches and other perishable stuff in my panniers and then moved them into an office fridge and never had a problem with that, but my commute is only 7 miles and it's not so hot a steamy here. I don't ride my bike to get lunch, but I have a few options that I can walk to, so I'm lucky in that regard. I also like the semi-perishable stuff like dried fruit (raisans, prunes, apricots) and good old carrot sticks.

My DW makes excellent whole wheat muffins with dried fruit and made with applesauce instead of oil. She puts them in the freezer and I throw them into a baggie and then into a plastic grocery bag with carrot sticks, celery, cucumber, turnips, apples, bananas (which get a little bruised), grapes, oranges, home popped popcorn, whole wheat bread and peanut butter sandwiches, small boxes of crackers, hard cookies, cans of pork and beans, soup, tuna, etc. Make sure you have access to a can opener. Do not really like the cans because of the weight.

I just wash my hair in a utility sink, use paper towels to dry my hair and then wipe off my body with the same paper towel.

I also keep a selection of plastic bags at work with a couple of the bags on the bike. I really like the bags they put on the delivered newspapers. I use these for shoe covers with some rubber bands. I hate wet feet.

Carry in some back up socks, undies, belt, pants, shirt, shoes. Anything you really can not do without is the thing most likely to leave at home.

The best part of waking up is the knowledge that you will get a ride in while others are stuck in traffic, having car problems, and other things that lead to stress.

take some work shirts and pants and just leave them at work. or leave your pants at work and wear them two days in a row. that's what i do.

also keep some hair gel, toothpaste, etc, to freshen up. does your route go by a bus route in case of really nasty weather?

i usually bring lunch to work, on weekends i'll buy a bunch of chicken and grill them, and make some rice or veggies too. put each little "ready to eat meal" into a square tupperware that fits into my rack trunk. i don't mind eating the same thing every day, but you could grill of bake chicken and use different seasonings or marinades with them. i also keep some cliff bars in rack trunk too if need a boost.

as i've said in other posts, storage is important. i use rack trunk, handlebar box, and grocery pannier (not all at once, but when needed i can clip them on)... easy to do errands on the way home when you have adequate storage, and not dangling bags over your handle bars in traffic.

Since your situation is temporary and you may not want to invest in extra equipment right now, maybe you could pack a week's worth of clothes and food and your wife could drop them off on her way to or from work on Monday?

I use panniers to carry my clothes, shoes, school work, tools, etc. I keep a full toiletry kit at work for cleaning up in the restroom (no showers.) I either bring food or eat at the snack bar in the building. Hope it's an enjoyable experience!

If you have a small backpack, try hanging it behind your seat. Everything should fit in there. I usually take PB&J sandwhiches, because I trust them not to spoil as much as something with meat in it. I'd not worry about the times of the training, as much as having a job in this economy, right now.

If you have a small backpack, try hanging it behind your seat. Everything should fit in there. I usually take PB&J sandwhiches, because I trust them not to spoil as much as something with meat in it. I'd not worry about the times of the training, as much as having a job in this economy, right now.

that give me an idea: maybe i'll just starting hanging bananas from my seat. when i put them in my rear trunk they get bruised jostling around with the other stuff...

you need one of these: http://www.wallbike.com/oddsnends/bananaguard.html

I commute by recumbent, but I only go 8.5 miles. 15 wouldn't be so bad, though, because there is no pain riding the recumbent. It would just take a lot longer.

Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to work so you don't feel hurried. It's not really possible to make up much time on a bike. The worst that'll happen is you arrive too early but that only makes you look good (I know because the Prez has noticed how early I arrive and now I've got a big raise.)

One thing you could do is bring bread and peanut butter and jelly or lunch meat on the first day and make sandwiches. Also bring your shoes and leave them there.

I work in a software company and keep shoes under my desk. A friend of mine wishes they'd provide lockers to keep a whole week's worth of clothes. I don't see why I couldn't keep at least a few days worth under my desk. I just bring clothes for the day.

For lunch, if I don't eat the free fruit or subsidized food in the cafeteria, I go out with my buddies who always have to drive. I've offered to pay for gas but they always refuse.

My route has a hill toward the end, for about the last mile, but after a week or two I pretty much don't mind it anymore. But yeah, recumbents are pretty slow on hills when they're steep. The way home for you ought to be a scream. Living here with perpetual fog it's a headwind both ways, but thanks to the recumbent the headwind isn't a bother.

Well I rode the route. Actual riding time was 1 hour 18 min. & 50 seconds. I figure with stopping for red lights it probably took me about 1.5 hours total. As long as I leave no later then 8:00 am I should have no problem.

As far as lunches go on Monday's I am going to take PB&J's. Then when my wife picks me up she will bring the next day's lunch & I'll put it in the fridge if it is perishable or at my desk if it is not, like a can of soup. This way I can have some variety. I'm also sure I can find someone to ride with every now & then so I can get away for lunch. There is no place close enough to walk & by the time I got ready to ride to a place, got there, ate & got back, I would be rushed & I'd probably have to eat real fast, which I don't like to do.

The bag I use is the Vision Day Bag. Plenty big enough for my change of cloths, etc. The weight is no big deal as I found out when I rode the route today, I took a change of cloths with me in the bag so it would be a more realistic time, especially while climbing the hills.

As I mentioned before I have a pair of shoes already there. While the day bag has a lot of room there is not enough for the shoes.

One thing I forgot to mention is I will not be riding home from work. It would take longer for me to get home then it will for me to go to work. There are longer steeper hills even though the route is in reverse. So my wife will pick me up. This way I get home & can have dinner at a fairly decent hour before I go to bed. I still have to wake up at the same time as if I was driving to work so I need to have dinner & get to bed a good hour.

Thank you for all the good advice.

you need one of these: http://www.wallbike.com/oddsnends/bananaguard.html

now i'm convinced everything that could ever be invented has.

I use one side of my panniers for my jeans and shirt, keep my safety boots at work. I bring a yougurt and banana in the panniers for breakfast, keep a box of grape nuts on my desk for the yogurt. I have a soft side cooler and a hard playmate with eyebolts mounted on it for hotter weather to carry my salad, tupperware glass of milk, fruit, carrots, salad dressing, fork etc for lunch. I'm in the field all day so I have to have my lunch with me or stop and spend the money for lunch which would negate any savings of commuting by bike.

Just under an hour 20 minutes? Maybe go in a bit earlier, to allow for unseen happenings. Use the extra time to sit out front relaxing and watching the cars jockeying for parking spots close to the building.

Just under an hour 20 minutes? Maybe go in a bit earlier, to allow for unseen happenings. Use the extra time to sit out front relaxing and watching the cars jockeying for parking spots close to the building.


That is actual ride time, not the total time. Total time is about 1.5 hours. There were that many traffic light & I got on red by most if not all of them. There was also a pretty stiff head wind for most of the way. I know this may be differant in the mornings when I commute then it was on a Saturday afternoon. That is why I am going to leave no later then 8:00 am. More then likely I will leave around 7:15 am which is when my wife leaves.