Commuting - Another commuter!

My best friend called me last night to tell me that she has been inspired by me and is planning to start commuting by bicycle to work! We see each other once a year, and apparently our recent visit made an impact on her. It helped that I'm at my lowest weight ever, and she is at a higher weight than she would like.

I told her I started biking last year in January, so she realized that she could start biking at any time. She wanted advice on cold weather clothing, and is really excited about starting. Both of us want to go to Europe in year or two and cycle on our trip, so she has to start somewhere or else she won't be ready.

My friend has a tendency to not follow through on things, but I really hope that this one is something she will fall in love with like me. It wasn't until I started biking that I discovered exercise doesn't have to be a chore.

Wish her luck!

Originally posted by Teresa
My best friend called me last night to tell me that she has been inspired by me and is planning to start commuting by bicycle to work!

Wish her luck!
Here's hoping she'll follow through. :beer:

Hope you both make it to Europe. I know you'll have a great time. :)

Teresa, pretty cool. Is your friend also in Balto? If so, it'll be a cold start, right? That's going to be tough beginning. I hope she sticks with it.

Originally posted by Teresa
My best friend called me last night to tell me that she has been inspired by me and is planning to start commuting by bicycle to work! We see each other once a year, and apparently our recent visit made an impact on her.
Teresa, not only is this great news for her, but--

I love seeing "delicate females" exploding the excuses of macho men why they cannot bicycle for transportation. Not that you are "delicate," in fact you are probably much stronger than any non-exercising man your size!

:D

Actually, my friend is in Blacksburg, VA. Which means more cold, more wind, and more hills than Annapolis. If I hadn't started last January, she wouldn't have thought she could start now.

She does have wider streets, more streets to choose from, and less traffic. This will help her.

Great initiative.

I think she should start by taking it easy. Unless it's a really short ride, she could commit, say, to days when the weather is dry and the temperature around or above freezing.

At your latitude, it still leaves 3 weeks out of 4 for good cycling in January. And the net effect is that by starting to cycle in decent weather, she has much more chance of enjoying her experience. In the long run, that would mean fine-tuning her clothing and cycling under more "extreme" conditions.

Regards,