Commuting - I love commuting!!

I am into it now for about a month. It makes me feel so good. Some think that after working 8 hours and it being 12:30am in the morning once I get off, that the thought of riding home would be a daunting task, but truthfully it is the BEST feeling!! When I roll out of there, I have the most incredible feeling of FREEDOM I have never experienced before and more engery during and after work. Years ago, when I drove to work, I used to look forward to the longish ride home cause it seemed to transform me from work to home, but that was NOTHING compared to this. It really is the best thing I have done for myself in a long while.

Another thing, Everyone has been warning me about the area I ride through. Telling me that it is not the "best" area and that maybe I should rethink riding to work,,blah,,blah,,blah. Well, I haven't seen so much as one person at that time of night, and I might encounter at most (so far) 2-4 cars. I have taken to carrying mace(just in case) just because of everyone's warnings but I really look forward to proving them all wrong. What they are telling me must be true, because I have seen many cop patrols during that time, which only makes me feel safer. During my rides home, I am so happy that the one thought that ALWAYS crosses my mind is that I REFUSE to let what MIGHT happen to me deture me from doing something that makes me so happy. Not that I want to die this way, but if I have to die this way, what better way to die than doing something I love to do?

I just wanted to share my happiness with others that seem to know what I am experiencing. I felt like I might actually bust if ONE MORE PERSON heeds a warning at me. It's starting to get ANNOYING!! Like not one person had anything positive to say about it. NOt that I expect anyone to say anything to me, but if you don't have anything nice to say,,than don't say anything at all. Untill, yesterday, when I had a parent/teacher conference and rode there, the teacher was VERY impressed with the fact that I rode there and once I told her that I rode to work and all, she was like "you are an inspiration to me". That made me feel SO GOOD.

Thanks to you all, you give me inspiration as well to ride to places that I might not of before thought of. I really feel that anything is possible as long as you are willing to go there.

I was going to ask where you ride, then realized your location was BristoL VA not BristoW VA. Bristow is a few miles from me. Bristol is more like 350 miles.

Anyway great to hear you're enjoying it! Yeah people always tell me about the "bad sections" of Manassas, but they're nothing like the parts of FL I used to live in/near. Congrats! Don't let anything deter you from riding!

I REFUSE to let what MIGHT happen to me deture me from doing something that makes me so happy

Good for you. I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who let the fear of what someone else might do keep them from doing what they enjoy. "Someone might hit you!" "yeah, then again, someone might not."

Patella -- congrats on the ride and welcome to the club.

I applaud your fortitude and willingness to stick to your ride. I've found that many people who comment on the "bad" parts of town usually have little or no exposure to those sections. Their opinions are based on media reports, stereotypes and hearsay -- and sometimes good intentions to protect a friend. You just have to learn to ignore the fearmongers. Perhaps after you have been doing it for a while you can come up with a good rejoinder to the skeptics.

I was extremely nervous when I first started. Scared of the neighborhoods, traffic, etc.
Now I love it. That and loosing 20 lbs in 5 months helps. Somedays I am unable to ride. The end result is me becoming cranky and tired on those days.

I look forward to the morning commute and even more so to the return home. I love it!
I am picking up more clothing so I can continue this year round. I finally found a sport I love. I have even purchased a child trailer to haul my 2 yr old son around on the weekend.

Very inspirational post by the OP!

I agree, too, I'm tired of hearing veiled criticisms. Good thing the wife is 110% onboard or I'd go crazy! :)

I got all those lectures, too. They always came from people who had absolutely no experience with bicycling.

I love it too... been 3 weeks now and I've ridden every day. Getting gear and mindset together to make it through the Colorado winter. There will be some blizzard days that I probably won't ride, but most other days I wouldn't miss it.

Here's why I love the commute:
1 Walk out the door to a speedy downhill 1 1/2 miles long in the dark.[quite exciting in pre coffee mode]
2 Nobody on the roads early in the am
3 Furry woodland animals abound in the pre-dawn darkness
4 Nice workout on the way in to work [2 mile climb to the office]
5 Morning shower on company time [start a process running then hit the shower]
6 Everyone marvels at the bike in my office and that I know how to ride it.
7 I save $5 a day on gas.
8 I get paid $2 every day I ride from our rideshare program.
9 Looking forward to the ride home gets me through the funk of any workday.
10 Flying past the lines of cars in the evening give me that neener neener feeling.
11 Pounding the hill up to the house gets me to 100% max HR every day.
12 I love to ride my bike !

Feel free to add for any reasons I haven't covered.

-tan
-better muscle tone
-less weight around the middle
-increase lung capacity
-an actual desire to eat breakfast once I get to work. Eating when hungry from exercising is very appetizing.
-being tired from actually working out
-not needing to hit the gym

What furry woodland creatures do you have the pleasure of seeing?
I have seen deer, several foxes, and racoons.

Somedays I am unable to ride. The end result is me becoming cranky and tired on those days.


That is me exactly! I guess it has something to do with endorphines -- or maybe its just that I didn't have to transfer 3 times on the subway to get to work ...

I did not ride this morning and it took me till 8am to wake up. Usually, I ride, nap on the bus, ride some more, and am well awake at 6am. *grumbles*

Some of them might be jealous! There are so many lemming drivers out there that they can't seem to think past all the dangers of a bike. There are dangers from cars as well. I like you attitude. I think the same thing. Would you rather die while eating a big mac, reading the paper, talking on the cell phone, and watching your latest DVD? I would rather die being outside, connected to nature, feeling the wind, hearing the birds, and knowing that I am part of something bigger than anything that a driver is a part of. Drivers are driving cars that run because of dead dinosaurs...and eventually that will run out. They will be extinct just like their fuel. Just wait! Keep Cycling and know that your a part of the SOLUTION! NOT the POLLUTION!

Keep Cycling!

Jeff

"Furry Creatures?"

Just a couple of homeless on the Hudson River path.

I love coming over the GWB as the sun is rising. Magnificent.

I heard my wife on the phone with an aunt the other night giving a ten minute rundown of my commute and how much I love it. Its great when others understand.

As I like to say, the best part of my day is when I am riding to and from work

9 Looking forward to the ride home gets me through the funk of any workday.


Yeah buddy! :p

Just look them in the eye and say in your blandest, flattest voice: "Thank you for your concern."

And ride on!

Not that I want to die this way, but if I have to die this way, what better way to die than doing something I love to do?Amen brother [or sister, as the case may be]! Ideally, I'll be really old when I go, but even then I hope it will be in my sleep, on a bike or snowboarding. Fast, painless.

. . . During my rides home, I am so happy that the one thought that ALWAYS crosses my mind is that I REFUSE to let what MIGHT happen to me deter me from doing something that makes me so happy. . . .
You can always ask the drivers why they risk dying of a heart attack while sitting in their recliner.

I am a car guy and I purposely keep it home and take the bike because of the freedom factor. The independance. My car stays cleaner between washes and a full tank lasts me over a month now. I only drive when it rains. I will post pics of the machine l8tr. The Sony bicycle radio/speedometer also makes the ride more enjoyable.

I am a car guy and I purposely keep it home and take the bike because of the freedom factor. The independance.

this is a huge factor for me in a fairly densely populated 'inner' city. i've made attempts to explain that to friends before. there's a much wider radius of my city that just feels like part of my neighbourhood to me now. these are areas that would be too far to walk for the time factor, and too close to feel worth driving to. i love how being on a bike means that anything you feel like doing becomes possible. there's no driving around for an extra ten minutes looking for a place to park and then walking back, no fumbling for coins for the parking metre, no opening and closing doors and buckling seatbelts on and off, locating keys, shifting crud from the front seat to the back, putting the cargo in at one door and yourself in at another. . . i feel like being on a bike puts me at street level and opens all the doors on those streets.