Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - First Commute

I 'manned up' this morning and biked into to work for the first time. This one of the 2 initial goals I set out to accomplish based on my first post (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=431399). The other was weekend rides with friends, but golf keeps getting in the way.

I only stopped twice during the 7 miles in 50 minutes. Given the fact that I am still on the original knobby tires on my Hardrock Sport, I think this was a decent pace for just getting up in the morning and heading out the door (after checking the Weather Channel for rain).

The most annoying thing during the ride was my hands...they were sweaty and became a little numb at times. Suggestions?

A future annoyance will be darkness...and fairly soon. Sunrise was at 6:41 am this morning in Lafayette, Indiana and this means as my current pace, I will arrive at work with only 30 minutes to shower and dress at work prior to my official start time.

Now, 30 minutes is a LONG time for me to get ready (15 minutes is more like it), but with sunrise getting later every day, it will not be long before I will be unable to commute due to darkness as I have not added any lights to my ride yet. I think I will also negotiate with the boss for a later start time.

So today, I will be patting myself on my back...and shortly...I will start looking forward to the ride home!

Congratulations on your commute. Some of us manage to commute even without the advantage of being male.

Congratulations on your commute. Some of us manage to commute even without the advantage of being male.

Thanks.

BTW, I did not mean any offense by my 'manning up' phrase, I just was being a noncommittal wimp and decided today was the day I would commit to my first commute.

It took a little planning little planning (clothing, towel, etc.), had to set the alarm early (nearly the HARDEST part), and wait for some daylight this morning as it was still dark outside. And the hardest part was not setting the alarm early, but actually getting out of bed and not playing several rounds of snooze tag!

Now that I think about it, I actually have not completed the commute yet. I think it is not complete until I get home tonight!

Use padded gloves and add lights for no excuses.

Play around with your saddle and bar positions. Moving the saddle back may alleviate the numbness issues. Get gloves and lights and a bell and make yourself visible. A rack and panniers or a backpack can keep you commuting year round. Keep it up and you'll cut your commute time in half.

Congratulations on your commute. Some of us manage to commute even without the advantage of being male.

That has to be some sort of miracle!

Damn, man, those knobbies are going to kill you. Get thee to performancebike.com or your local LBS! SoooOOooo much easier to pedal and not excessively expensive compared to other stuff you can spend money on.

Congratulations on getting started. It does get easier, believe me. You will get to the point where you look forward to the ride in and the ride back home.

Use padded gloves and add lights for no excuses.

+100. The gloves will help, especially with the sweat issues and lights will do the trick for early morning. Lights will also keep you safer and all you to "be seen" in traffic.

Keep up the good work. Pretty soon you will be cranky if you DON'T get to ride to work, I know I am.

Congrats.

Congratulations! I just joined the club a couple of weeks ago with a 19 mile round trip a couple of times a week. I have some numb hand issues too so I bought a pair of bike gloves over the weekend. I am going to try them out tomorrow to see if they make a difference or not.

Congratulations! I just joined the club a couple of weeks ago with a 19 mile round trip a couple of times a week. I have some numb hand issues too so I bought a pair of bike gloves over the weekend. I am going to try them out tomorrow to see if they make a difference or not.

time to do some glove research!

I put a riser on my bars, and ALL numbness is gone.

A basic pair should do you. Ive seen 'super padded' ones and one with lights in them and whatnot, but I found when I compared the pair I bought from Walmart ( Bell, I think) and the pair I bought a week later at the LBS (Pearl Izumi's) for the same price, that the Pearls were somewhat less padded, but made SO MUCH better. The seams were more flat, the velcro was better, the overall material was better, and they fit closer to what they should. (WM gloves seem to fit small)

Congrats on the commute! I commute on my HR Sport whenever I can. For hand numbness, gloves and concentrating on changing up your grip and keeping a lighter touch on the bars. Also, bar ends can help.

UPDATE-a-rooney:

On Tuesday (Aug 12), I completed my second commute to work. I took a slightly different route in which was only 6 miles to work (vs. the 7) to shave some time off as the sun does not seem to be getting up as early as it was a couple of weeks ago (need lights). However, I took a different route back so I could drop off my Hardrock Sport for its 30-day tune up at my LBS...distance was 10 miles, oh yeah!

And I am poised to commute tomorrow as I staged work clothes this morning for the next commute and the weather looks to be very promising in the greater metropolitan area of Lafayette, Indiana :lol:

congrats hopefully you get the bike back soon and keep it up until the addiction takes full effect. Make sure you check it over briefly before taking it home to make sure brakes work, it shifts all the gears and that kinda of stuff. They may have gotten distracted and only half adjusted something.

Commuting at night it really nice and relaxing given the proper equipment which all depends on the roads you take and the distance you ride. With school starting soon parents are going to shift their schedule if they can and there is less traffic pre-dawn.

Hey congrats on the commuting. I've been commuting 3 days a week all summer and it really feels great. I get numb hands on the hybrid also even with gloves. I think it's all in the hand positioning. The best thing I've found to help it is my new Bianchi via Narone road bike:thumb:. Actually I think bar ends would help a lot. Good luck with the lights, I'll be turning mine on next week when I ride in again also.