Commuting - I became a commuter yesterday!!!

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I left my car keys on the kitchen table and grabbed my helmet instead. What a feeling it was to coast out of my apartment complex in the fresh, cool morning air. My commute is only 6 miles but it gets the heart a'pump'n and let's me log a few miles during the week.

I'm going to try and ride every day save for the raining ones. I just can't decide if I want to ride the mountain bike or my old road bike. I've done both so far and think that the old Trek road bike is the way to go. It cut about 8 minutes of my commute but wasn't as fun on the way home since I poached a golf course last night on my mountain bike.

Don't worry, I stayed on the rough except when I had to cross. It was like skiing in a funky sort of way.

Oh well, just had to share.

I do feel a little more elitist now that I'm a commuter. But I like it. :thumbup:

Sean

Congrats at joining the ranks! One more car off the road! Have you tried slicks on the MTB? They make a world of difference. Mine are Specialized Nimbus EX's low roll resistance plus TOUGH = good commuter tire.

Congrats! Its good to get the ranks growing. I'm fairly new at it, and I'm glad I'm doing it. It does a wonder for my attention span at work ;)

My best advice?

There may be days you won't feel like riding, and may find weak excuses not to ride. Force yourself to ride. You'll thank yourself once you're on that bike.

There has been a couple of times when I have felt lazy. I tell myself, "What am I trying to prove?" A couple of times, I grabbed the keys instead. However, these days, I force myself to get on the bike. Once I'm on, I don't regret it.

Keep on ridin'

Welcome to the club! ;) I just started bike commuting a few months ago, and I'm sure my sanity has improved because of it. (Although maybe it's the other way around... Have to think about that... :D )

Listen to danr! I didn't feel like riding in this morning, but I forced myself out the door, and once I got going, I had a wonderful ride in.

Don't leave too many tracks in that golf course...

Tim

hey, congrats on the life improvement!


My commute is only 6 miles

6 miles is nothing to sneeze at and is a decent commute if you do it regularly. my current commute is about 7 miles and last year was 6 miles. if you're riding that distance more than twice a week i think you're already in the top % of commuters... hey, if you ride 4 days a week that's 6mi x 2 x 4days = almost 50 miles/week!

way to go.

as to MTB or road bike or slicks...

it depends on what you like, the length of your ride, the type of roads/trails and how many bikes and $$$ you have...

i personally have a total of 4 bikes (hey, advantage of having no car!!) and also MTB slicks that i have used for touring, but for my current 7mi.x2 commute I prefer riding my hardtail MTB with SEMISLICKS - this way i can hop curbs or obstacles and not destroy my road bike on road construction, as well as take an occaisonal trail, but with the semislicks i pump up to about 60psi and the rolling resistance is pretty low... also i have studded tires for the winter (mounted them last week) -- see http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17110&highlight=studded+tires

Good to go.
Be careful on the golf course though, the groundskeeper might not appreciate your short cut. If you're respectful of the work that they put in to keep the course in shape they will be a lot less likely to interfere with your ride. Trespassing is against the law though. Keep in mind that you are part of a bigger group, cyclers, and what you do reflects on all of us.

YESSS! BikeForums - changing the world one bike commuter at a time!

Hey, 6 miles each way is a perfect distance to start with - long enough to feel like you have done something, short enough to do every day. Just wait. In a couple of months you will be looking for alternative routes to add miles. My regular everyday commute has crept up from 20 miles (9/11) round trip to 22 (9/13) to 25 (9/16) with occasional longer afternoon rides (22-25). Commuting is a great fun way to get in miles without feeling like you are taking extra time out of the day.

Please exercise care if you must ride on the golf course. Golf courses spend a great deal of money keeping the fairways and greens just so. Ideally, the turf of a well-kept fairway is slightly soft which make it susceptible to damage by bicycle tires. No matter how careful you are, you may leave ruts in the turf.

Hey, way to go! Listen to Danr, I've been commuting for over twenty one years and trust me, there will be days you don't feel like it but you won't regret it if you ride. Also, like what was mentioned, you will find different ways to get there and back and that will add milleage. Six miles is nothing to scoff at, it makes for a very nice commute. Congratulations and welcome to the pack. Explore, have fun!

Danr sparked my motivation for today.. This is one of those days I don't feel like riding.. I'm about to leave the house, so I'll feel better about my decision to ride in a few minutes ;)

Homebrew, now you should start posting in the big thread.

Congrats and welcome to our world, a place where many will think you're insane, but the reality of it all is, we just know things others don't. Danr is correct, listen to him, sometimes you just don't feel like riding, but muscle through it, it's worth it, once on the bike and rolling things are the way they should be. As far as the bike goes, I have nice bikes and one old mountain bike that I built up as a commuter, it has turned out to be my favorite ride to work, it just takes anything you can throw at it, it never whimpers, needs little and carries anything you attach to it. It's a little slower but who cares, it's more time you can spend on the bike. Besides, it allows you to keep your good bikes better. Be safe, get what you need and stick with it, it's a great thing to do. To quote Sheldon Brown, "The most important thing you can do with your bike is ride it to work"

Homebrew,
Like everyone else, you've always really been a commuter, you've known it deep down inside for a long time, you have finally grew tired of suppressing and fighting those feelings and now you've decided to go public with it, congrats! :D

Thanks for all the support and words of encouragement guys!

It does feel great to part of a new community.

And to all you golfers out there don't worry I stay on the cart paths 99% of the time and never ride on the greens. And I only ride on the fairway to cut across to the cart path. I respect the time and money the put into their course and wouldn't maliciously harm the grass.

It's just more fun and a little safer to cut through the course then to ride on the road at night.

Cheers,

Sean

Congratulations and keep it up :)

Richard

The more motorists tell us we are crazy, the prouder I become.. Welcome to the club. Wish it possible I cycled to work 75 percent of the time. Some day it will be 90 percent plus.. since I have been commuting by bike to work- I have kept over a years' worth of mileage off my car. IN over 4 years time now.. I am proud of that.. that is a lot of gas. And when I get to work on the bike I am more alert and a happier person. Certainly happy to be out of the road with the other crazies.. I see a wreck at least once a week, now it seems. motorists doing crazy things because they are steamed over the traffic.. I was held up getting to work at least two times this month, due to traffic backed up due to a wreck. Once at least 30 minutes.. And motorists think we are nuts..

The hardest part of commuting is getting out the door on a rainy day. There is a great temptation to jump in the car, but it should be resisted. Once I don the raingear and get out on the road, I am glad I didn't give in. I find that riding in the rain, if properly dressed, is a unique and wonderful experience. Beyond the feeling of accomplishment, rain rides are just plain different. There is a feeling of isolation and focus that is hard to put into words. Of course, people will treat you like an insane person when you arrive at work. "You rode today? Are you nuts?".

I find that drivers give me a wider berth and are more cautious when overtaking me in the rain. Just be conservative when making turns and hitting the brakes. When shopping for raingear, remember that the term "waterproof and breathable" verges on being an oxymoron.

Sean, I'm happy for you!

:)

The longer I commute by bike, the more it feels, "normal," and driving feels unnatural.

I feel sorry for those who are trapped behind the wheel. They have no ID what they're missing!