Commuting - How did you begin?

I'd imagine there's more than a few lurkers in this Forum, checking things out before taking the "big plunge" -- bike-commuting -- for the first time.

It might be worthwhile to point out here how some of the "pros" on this board started their bike-commuting "careers".

For me, it was after I moved to Santa Clara, CA about 7 years ago. I had always been interested in bikes and had done tons of biking when I lived on the east coast. Like many, family and job priorities surfaced and I scaled back biking to near-zero.

I thought, however, that if I won't bike-commute in Santa Clara then I won't ever. I mean: flat valley, great weather, generally supportive populace, etc.

I started with a real clunker bike with weekend trips to work (I was doing 70+ hours constantly at the time). I enjoyed this and realized how utterly out of shape I was. This was during the summer months. I eventually tried my hand at a weekday ride on a 7-mile, one-way trip sometime in the fall of that year ('97 I think). At first it was "unnatural" and fraught with uncertainty. The things I take for granted now were all new at the time and required considerable planning and caused considerable concern. As a result I was unsure of whether I'd pursue bike-commuting given the extra effort involved.

Over time I found alternative paths to take which relieved some of the concern. I also settled into somewhat of a routine. My wife and kids were supportive and were there to "bail me out" should anything untoward occur. I never had a problem finding showers at work (CA is replete with these ... primarily for runners!!) and I learned to leave most everything at the shower facility including shoes and belts and soap, etc., bringing only my work clothes with me during the ride. I haven't changed this strategy in over five years.

I stuck with bike-commuting through the late fall and early winter. It was then that El Nino hit and it rained and rained and rained. I stuck with it, though, and emerged in the spring a seasoned veteran.

The next year was La Nina and it rained and rained and rained. In the past few years, however, it hasn't really rained until Feb/March, where before it had started in November. So I've had a bit of a reprieve of late.

So that's pretty much it. I basically stuck with it and view bike-commuting, for all its pain-in-the-@ss complications, as a key part of my daily life. So much so that missing just two days or so leaves a big hole. It's truly a fun experience every time and keeps this 41-year-old geezer in very good shape. I've built up to where I'll do (during the summer months) 20 miles each way, backing off to 13 miles each way when the kids go to school -- I go with the kids to their school and go from there.

If this helps to convince any lurkers out there sitting on the fence, then I'll feel I've done my part. How 'bout some of the other "pros"?

I used a bike when I was at school, a 3speed Triump All-Steel, for getting around and weekends exploring the countryside.
I took it to college and used it to get around the big city. I didnt use any special equipment, I think I carried stuff in a small backpack or strapped to my luggage rack.

When I moved to college in London, I took my 5-speed racer, but lived so close to the centre I never used it, or so far I took the tube. When I started work and moved out from college I eventually go fed up behaving like a dumb cow on the underground, so started riding again. I had a reasonable roadworthy setup (lights/panniers/fenders) but nothing flashy. I used cotton track-pants and non-breathable waterproofs. The hardest part of riding was figuring out a good route, but that was also the most fun.
I stopped when work moved further from my house than I thought I could ride, and only started again after I hired a bike whilst on holiday.
I can say that before that holiday I used a bike. Afterwards I was a cyclist and started to learn all the things that make cycling easier and more convenient. Of course I had to use things called "books" because these internet forum things were not quite so accessable.

Back in '94, two of my bandmates decided to buy themselves bikes since they didn't make enough cash for a car and felt public trans was a ripoff. Finally I was asked to commute from Decatur to Midtown Atlanta (about 3-4 miles maybe) and I recited the usual rookie-rider-raga: 'no way, it's not possible, riding in the street is stupid, I'll get creamed, etc., etc.'. Anyway, I made it and had a great time. Soon after, I asked them if I COULD ride instead of taking a car and was usually obliged. Within the next year, someone opened up a door on one of them and they both quit riding. I rode their bikes recreationally until I bought my own in '96. I went everywhere on that bike - work, rehearsals, store, everything. I didn't see any need for a car until I ended up with a very materialistic girlfriend who claimed she just couldn't be with an adult who just doesn't have a car. Like a sap, I fell for it - bought a car and quit riding. Soon after, she realized that being with a musician holds about as much social status as being with a guy with no car and dumped me anyway. I ditched the car and I ride again. My new girl is much more understanding!!!

Back when I was in graduate school, there was no weekday parking either near my office or near my classes. Consequently, I started riding to work and class, and formed the pattern that "bikes are everyday practical transportation, and cars are for weekend fun" At that time I was driving in A- Modified autocross, with my car, so I was pretty active in motorsports. I thought of cars as sporting items that were also useful for some (but not all) transportation needs

Later, I got a job near the Mount Vernon bike trail, but with a great shortage of parking spaces. Trails are much-maligned; however, the proximity of this trail to work and homewas what caused the light bulb to go on. I switched to bike commuting, returning to my old habits. My current commute is mostly on urban streets.

Paul

My wife and I bought our first car when we were 26, a month after we bought our first house (a fixer-upper in near-teardown condition), and five months after I started my first full-time career-track job. I commuted by bicycle through my undergrad and grad student years at UCLA, avoiding major expenses and parking hassles. If we had owned a car during our first few years of marriage, we would not have been able to save up the down payment for the house.

Andy, you and I have so much in common! Anyway...

I don't know. I remember when my older brother and sister, both about 5 years older than me (a big gap for an under-10 newbie) got bikes. My brother's bike was like some kind of dangerous tool. But my sister's bike was something I could try, though the seat was way up in the sky. I kept failing, but I kept trying.

One day, I borrowed a bike from my friend up the street. It was also way too big (a bad habit I had to correct later, as I rode bikes way too big for a long time.) It was like magic when I finally got it balanced on the downhill sidewalk. :eek: I did it! I discovered the secret of speed/balance.

I think I was about 8 when my birthday produced a brand new green coaster-brake bike. :D It was mine! It was soon
replaced by a 5-speed Schwinn Collegiate, a heavy, but beloved
steed. (I used to brag to my friends that I could make it "all the way up the hill" to school...in high gear! I didn't believe my older friends who said, "That's not how you ride a bike.") I rode this bike all the way from a suburb of Washington, D.C. (Rockville, Md.) to downtown D.C. with some older friends a couple of times.
I was "too slow," so they stopped letting me ride with them. But I remember how good a spaghetti dinner tasted when I got home! :D

I moved to Brisbane, Australia in 1974. No bike, only walking. Great experience: I guess I learned to walk a lot. I lived by the riverside (52 MacQuarrie St., I think, near the University) and walked a couple of blocks to a local family store. :) Australia was so cool...but I missed my old home.

Back in the U.S.A, it wasn't until I was about 19 that I purchased my first bike, a Schwinn Traveller III, with my own money. I used it to get to work and anywhere else. The memories of riding propelled me to return to my first love: the bicycle! But the necessity of driving eventually replaced bicycling :( and the Schwinn entered "suspended animation" in my Dad's garage. (My Dad, by the way, took up riding his bike to work, or at least, 6+ miles round trip to the bus stop in downtown Stone Mountain.) My faithful steed hung patiently for over a decade...

One day, many moons later, holding down steady work and raising a family in Decatur, Ga., it hit me in a vision: my bike is hanging in my Dad's garage...I could get it ready and ride it partway to work! So I did, just like Dad. First, only about 6 miles round-trip to a library bus stop. This continued comfortably, until...

I moved back to Stone Mountain. No easy route. I adapted, and soon I was riding 19 miles to work on some days, using MARTA rapid transit as a help. Eventually, I conquered the entire distance from Stone Mountain to Atlanta, and back. This is where I still am today, averaging about 80 - 90 miles per week.

:D

Mine started when I started university in Feb 1999. I was always an avid biker, but I just didn't think of it as a serious mode of transport until I became an impoverished student who couldn't afford bus tickets anymore.

Reached 30, managed to quit smoking and realised that the puppy fat was turning into middle aged spread. Realised the only exercise I really enjoyed was walking (I'm gym phobic ;) ), but couldn't see how I could find the time to fit enough in, and thought I'd try cycling. Realised that the best way to fit cycling in with other commitments was to use the bike to get to work. Joined an odd forum, where people seemed really happy to give advice (much of which I listened to), bought my first bike in well over 20 years, and here I am - a convert :) Thanks folks.

I used to cycle to school, but gave up when I went to Uni in the late 70's.

Then, I worked too far away to cycle, but when I jacked it in and went to Uni for the second time, I started to cycle commute because we didn't have a lot of spare cash.

kept it up then stopped again when I moved to Fife, as i commuted by motorbike or train. Cycled in the summer a few years ago and got hooked again. Now year round!

I sometimes cycled to high school, and thought "this could be fun". Several years later I joined a choir and found out one of the choir members had a bike shop. He had sold several bikes to choir members, and they were all very happy with them, so I thought I'll take a look. He gave me a hybrid to take for a test ride, and I was hooked immediately. Bought the bike (really too expensive for me at the time) and started pedalling.

Back then I lived in a place that had lousy connections to my work. It was appr. 15kms one way, but one summer morning the bus took 1 hour! I sat there, thinking, "I could probably ski faster than this. Or cycle..." Next morning I started commuting by bike and haven't really looked back.

I have not yet commuted all year round, as I have no place to hang my riding clothes to dry during the day. But I'm still thinking about it, so much so that last winter I bought my first pair of studded winter tyres. I know myself enough to see I'm getting ready for my first winter commute.

--J

It started with fishing......

I liked fishing, but had no boat (and you only catch little ones from the lakeshore!), and very little budget for one, plus a car that was too small to take a trailer hitch.

So, I mail-ordered a Sevylor inflateable raft. Didn't do much fishing in it--just didn't feel right--but had a blast paddling, and ran it down the Oconto river a few times (which scraped it all up and made holes in it.)

So I ordered the bigger size, and floorboards for it, and a sail. Had fun sailing on Shawano Lake. There almost never seemed to be a decent wind on the days I could get out to the lake, though. Considering the distance, and preparation required, I had to pretty much set aside a whole day to sail if I wanted to do it...and I had only 1 day off a week, so if the weather wasn't right, forget it. I only got to sail about 4 or 5 times that year. And only one time when I had a decent breeze!

Next year I never seemed to get around to it at all. :(

Next year I saw people on mopeds, played the old LucasArts adventure, Full Throttle, and decided I wanted a motorbike of some sort. Mopeds being out of my price range, I sold the sailing raft on Ebay, and used the money to buy an old Indian 70cc on-and-off road bike, which needed repairs and restorations. Spent the year buying parts, taking motorcycle riding lessons, and learning about 2-stroke engines.

Unfortunately, I also discovered I'm mechanically inept and hated working on the engine. :D The bike also needed total rewiring, and I wasn't too keen on learning enough electrical skills to do it myself...and all the work I had paid for so far was shockingly expensive.

I still wanted to be out there on two wheels, though. Plus, my knees weren't holding up to my usual long hikes and walks like they used to: more to the point, neither was my dog. The dog was unhappy when I left her home while I walked, and unhappy when I took her for 4 mile hikes, since her arthritis would bother her the rest of the day, but I still needed my exercise.

So, I decided to sell the motorcycle and use the proceeds to get myself a two-wheeler I could cope with mechanically, as my birthday present to myself.

While the bike was still on layaway (waiting for the new owners to pick up and pay for the Indian ME-70) I found this forum...and when I saw so many other people commuting, I decided it was something I could probably manage, as well.

Thanks, guys!

I used to bike to school religiously when I was a kid. Got to college and only rode trails, till my car broke. I lived out in the sticks in Athens county but they had just completed this rails to trails project along the river so I decided to give it a go. Man I thought everyone was stupid but me... it was great. I gave it up when I moved to Columbus and got a job and all the attachments that come with it. I found myself becoming more and more frustrated with traffic and such and didn't like the change happening in me. Then the crest of the tech wave broke and so did my car (again) so I ditched the car and insurance hassles and started riding again for strictly utilitarian purposes and fell in love with cycling all over again. I'll never look back.

Originally posted by LittleBigMan
Andy, you and I have so much in common! Anyway...
Actually, you're right. I was born and raised in Baltimore, not far from Rockville, as you know. I also had a Schwinn as a kid: a Pea Picker!!! Souped up with lights, a speedometer, and a blinker system. It was a rocking machine.

Every day on my commute I think back to those days where I buzzed around on my Pea Picker as a kid, popping wheelies and racking up -- get this -- 1500 miles which, as a kid riding up and down the same set of four city blocks or so, is a serious amount of miles.

It's not so different now, except I have a much bigger green bike (Trek 520 Touring). But I still have a light system and a speedometer. No blinkers, though.

I also lived in Atlanta (Alpharetta) but did no biking there. I found Atlanta (or its 'burbs) to be relative bike-unfriendly. Besides, I was busy with work and young kids ... the same of sob story.

I'd love a Trek 520. Mine's a 1200, no eyelets.