Commuting - Day one . . .

Gretings folks. I've been lurking on the forums for some time now, and have definitely appreciated all of the tips.

I am pleased to report that today is day one of my car-lite exsistence! After doing much research on the matter, I decided on the Trek 1000 for my first road bike. Once I can convince the wife that I need it, I'm hoping to get these bad boys:http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/large/rxTrunkBagDXP.jpghttp://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/large/mtxBeamRack_ex.jpg

I also plan on some fenders before the rain comes.

After a 6 year break from biking, I've decided to get back into the fold. Even more, back into shape. I qualify for the "Clydesdale" thread, and will likely be posting there soon . . . but I believe I can et myself down to a bit below 200 (6'1"). The ride is only 5.5 miles each way, and I fear I felt every bit of it this morning. My work is great about the whole thing though. They got a new bike rack just for me, and much to my amazement, there's a shower in one of our buildings (this was never revealed to me in the year I've been working here). This brings much joy to my being.

This forum is by far one of the best things I've found on the internet in far longer than I can honestly remember. The tips and advise found here is *great*. You guys are awesome!

Mad props dude! Welcome to the "fold"! :D

Keep us posted on how it goes.

Welcome.
My wife was initially concerned about the bike gear and new bike costs.
However, we only have one car. My $50 a month is far less than the costs of a car loan, insurance, repairs, and gas.
If you only have one car you can use this justification also. :)

The healthy reasons are even more reasons to spend the $$. How can you put a price on living longer? Another reason to invest in cycling.

I do have it a little easier since I am my family's CFO. :p

Welcome again

Welcome to the HHCMF club! Enjoy all the perks and priveleges membership brings and if you've been lurking long enough, you know what they are. ;)

Welcome :)

Certified Flight Officer? :P

Seriously though, thanks for the support. I'm really looking forward to getting involved in my local biking scene. I figure if I bike with others, the ride will only go better. Plus I'll have an excuse to really push myself (I'm a tad competitive . . . but who here isn't?).

Enjoy your commute. Before you know it you'll be looking for reasons to extend your ride home to get more time on the bike.

Welcome JPSmee,

I am also very new to commuting. Did you get the Trek 1000? If not, I'd suggest the Pilot 1.0. They are very similar bikes though, check them both out. (I bought the 1.0 and love it so far). As far as the bag, skip the seat post rack and get the Explorer version for the MTX series bags. I purchased this rack and LOVE the easy release system (I can't imagine using velcro!). I purchased the DXP bag (HUGE). It is heavy, but the mini-panniers are big enough to fit school books/papers/clothes/shoes/laptop (my Dell fits easily). The panniers are 11X13.5" (with more 'flex room').

Some useful links:

http://www.topeak.com/2006/products/bags/mtxtrunkbagdxp.php
http://cgi.ebay.com/TOPEAK-COMBO-BIKE-Rear-Rack-SUPER-LARGE-Bag-Pannier_W0QQitemZ7244149271QQcategoryZ56198QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1402000&f=2

Hope this helps you out!

Kerry

I already got the 1000 :). It's a bit more in my price range, and it suits my needs plenty. About that rack though, is there any particular benefit from the full rack compared to the seat post rack? I was just thinking of something simple and effective. If I mount the rack you suggested, will I loose my ability to install fenders for wet weather?

...there's a shower in one of our buildings (this was never revealed to me in the year I've been working here). This brings much joy to my being.

...and to your co-workers I bet. Two of the five of us in our small office bike commute and the other three claim it smells like a Right Guard factory in here. :o

-p

That's good about the 1000; they were about the same price for me, just liked the geometry of the Pilot series better. In my research, I found negative comments about mounting a rack to a carbon seatpost (the load is no longer in the same plane as your weight). You are also much more limited in the weight that can be put on the rack. The frame mounted one is also a bit lighter! Check out this:

http://www.topeak.com/sub/documents/M-TAT04-GB-5-05.pdf

I have fenders mounted under my rack, no issues whatsoever! Also gives spaces on it to mount my pump and battery pack for my light. I think that this rack is a must if you get one of the bags with the mini-panniers.

Good luck with the purchase!

Kerry

You addressed an a concern that I did have about the carbon. I don't want my seat post exploding while riding. The mere thought of that makes me cringe in terrible ways.

I had no idea the other type could weight less. That's awesome! The link you gave has conviced me (btw, I can't get anything but the links you give me to work on the Topeak website . . . odd, eh?).

Thanks for the tips!!!

Well, I'm on day two now. I managed to shave off 5 minutes (25 minutes now) from the commute from yesterday (lol, less coasting, and no breaks aside from red lights). I think I'm going to try to get it down to 15 minutes. Crazy? Probobly.

great job, welcome to the club, I drove today, 1st time since tuesday so I had 6 days in

Thanks wonkemtel!

I'm on day three now. I managed to make my morning ride in 20 minutes! I did even less coasting this morning, but I'm still not getting myself up to my higher gears. One step ata time I suppose.

Also, I had someone slow down yesterday afternoon just to yell "Get on the sidewalk!". How nice, eh? Interestingly enough, in VA, it's actually illegal to bike on sidewalks. Gotta love it!

oh yeah IL too if you are above 12 I think...other day hummer no less like they are 'made for the road' ha...wish I had that nerf suction dart gun that I could attach some rules of the road papers to. I am tired sometimes as it will take me a long time to adjust etc but I feel so good having done it that it's almost surprising that commuting by bike is legal.

The Ugly American is alive and well and driving an SUV.

The Ugly American is alive and well and driving an SUV.

Indeed they are.

I about killed myself yesterday. The temp was near 90, and I did two things terribly wrong.
1) No water before or during my ride
2) No pacing

This is something I'm not going to do again. My body is still actually sore. I decided to give my leg muscles a rest today and drove :o . I figure it's best to make sure my legs are up to the task of getting me to and from work before I completely dump my car.

Way to go, Mr. Smee. But let me get this straight: This is your first week commuting, and you've got a personal bike rack and a shower at work? This will quickly make you soft. You're going to need to get a fixed gear or ride blindfolded or dragging a football blocking sled to keep you sharp.

Welcome.

Welcome! 5.5 miles in 15 minutes should be possible, you'll have to be movin pretty fast (I worked it out to 22 mph average) pretty quick, even on a road bike. If you don't already have one, a cyclocomputer with cadence is a great way to work on speed, good target number for RPM's is 90+. I'm always very carefull about water, won't leave home on any trip with less than two full bottles. Just doesn't seem worth it not to have um...cuz you never know...might need to give one to a rider who has none and looks hurtin (done this) might need to use some to clean off some road rash (done this too)

I've heard bad things about seat post racks and CF seat posts too. I've got an alloy seat post, so not a concern for me...I too am looking into one of those beam racks for commuting, but haven't gotten one yet. I like that they can be quickly removed for weekend rides with the roadie groups (no "real" roadie would be caught with a rack on his bike! :-))

Check out the "how was the commute today?" thread that is stickied to the top of this forum. Great place to hear good stories (and get good advice on how not to let drivers kill you) Also many people from around the country post there so it's fun to hear about weather in other places.

Also a safety site I really like is this one http://bicyclesafe.com/ gives you great advice on how to ride defensively.

A regular rack takes the load staight down to the drop-outs. The TA2027 on that topeak site has a rear strut shaped to stop panniers swinging into the spokes during sudden swerves.

Thanks for the feedback! Now for an update . . .

I slacked off over the weekend, but decided to make up for it on my day off today. Lookie what I did
this morning (http://www.toporoute.com/cgi-bin/getSavedRoute.cgi?routeKey=ATYLALWBKQDNYDD). It was AWESOME! No cars for most of the ride (started at 7 am). Great farmland and forest scenery even. Half-way through, I stopped by a local airport for some water in the FBO. The folks were great there too. I even got to ride with some roadies for about a mile before they left me in their dust :P.

Nice ride. Are there any hills on it? If you take the clockwise direction there are a lot fewer intersections, where you have to watch for traffic.

It was a great ride. As for hills, not a one. The highest point in ym region is a landfill-turned park (yes, it's as weird as it sounds . .. and if that's not bad enough, it's called Mt. Trashmore). I did take it clockwise, and there were all of 4 cars that I had to deal with until I hit the last two turns (major traffic arteries).

I managed to log 89 miles last week. Woo. I called in sick yesterday, but am back at work, and back to the commute. Let's see how far I can go this week?