Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - After an Absence

My one week out of town turned into a month-and-a-half. Sorry 'bout that.
Good news, though. I was on a brief vacation when I was invited to attend a conference in Indiana, and the day I got home from that, I was invited to speak at another in Atlanta. All very short notice and with little preparation. But it went well. My body is now repaying me, however, for not having enough excercise.

First, apologies to Tom for not reporting mileage and weight numbers. Miles = 27.3 per week since the last time I sent them in. Weight as of this morning: 228.0 lbs.

Question: I want to start commuting more regularly, and have done so a few times, BUT, while I have been getting more excercise, I haven't really built up any speed, and am kinda worried about getting creamed by cage traffic. I wanna be FRED! The Commuting forum seems to be mostly messengers and hipsters who've been at it for a while; they seem to fail in understanding Clydes.
Thanks, guys. And, I'll be more regular in posting.

My one week out of town turned into a month-and-a-half. Sorry 'bout that.
Good news, though. I was on a brief vacation when I was invited to attend a conference in Indiana, and the day I got home from that, I was invited to speak at another in Atlanta. All very short notice and with little preparation. But it went well. My body is now repaying me, however, for not having enough excercise.

First, apologies to Tom for not reporting mileage and weight numbers. Miles = 27.3 per week since the last time I sent them in. Weight as of this morning: 228.0 lbs.

Question: I want to start commuting more regularly, and have done so a few times, BUT, while I have been getting more excercise, I haven't really built up any speed, and am kinda worried about getting creamed by cage traffic. I wanna be FRED! The Commuting forum seems to be mostly messengers and hipsters who've been at it for a while; they seem to fail in understanding Clydes.
Thanks, guys. And, I'll be more regular in posting.
Welcome back and you should have PM'd me! We could have hooked up, I'm Indiana.:D ;) I could have loaned you one of my bikes for a ride or something!

ps: No apologies necessary!

As far as commuting goes, I say just do it. I'm quite a bit larger than you, am commuting daily - and LOVE it! This morning I passed a car in traffic (I was going about 37mph) - the look on the driver's face was PRICELESS :D

Just start riding, and don't get discouraged. The headwind I faced over my lunch hour darn near killed me, but I resisted the urge to take the truck back to work. Felt better for it, that headwind turned into a darn nice tailwind!

Anyway, just ride. Once you do it enough, you'll fly...

Agreed with BDinger! Just do it and be visible as far as the commuting goes. You will develop the appropriate skills and as fAr as the speed goes? The only way that will improve is ride, ride, ride!http://user.chollian.net/~boonstra/gif/fiets870.gif

I commute and I'm slow (~12mph average) and I ride down a pretty fast country road. The best thing I did was buy a hi-vis yellow jacket. It's given me the confidence that cars can see me so I just ride big and strong and hold my road position.

not all of us that post in the commuting forum are messengers and hipsters....some of us clydes post there too. I've only been commuting since September, and I am ver much a Fred. I switched from a 7-up/Dr. Pepper crate zip tied to the rack to a pair of Wald folding grocery baskets. I'm a clyde, I'm a fred and I'm a commuter.
You don't have to be fast, you just have to want to do it. Be careful, but don't be paranoid. Sure, there are a number of posts about car/bike accidents, but when you consider the miles traveled and number of accidents, the numbers are not too bad.
If you are out there because you want to be it's sure to be an enjoyable experience.

The bicycle commuter CANNOT be intimidated by weather, wusses, cagers or fleet messenger cyclists. We will inherit the earth and the roads, we commuters rule the world and, fortunately, come in all sizes, ages, and shapes...:D

I'm a clyde, I'm a fred and I'm a commuter.

Me too

Clyde Commuter +1

The best idea is to just get out there and do it. Check out some of the tips in the commuting forum - they apply if you're 140 pounds or 240 pounds : )

Just give yourself some time, try to pick a route that's less busy (even if it's farther) and pay attention to your surroundings. You'll do OK.

I'm a clyde, I'm a fred and I'm a commuter.

What's a FRED ?

What's a FRED ?
I'll let someone else explain that one...

The diametric opposite of the OCP roadie would be a good explanation as any!