Commuting - Commuting and lifestyle

I don't know about you guys, but commuting to work (when I do it, that's about three time a week) has made me readjust my lifestyle, at least during the evenings/nights prior to my next day commute: meaning I want to go to bed earlier than usual so I'm rested for my commute (workout), I find myself eating better, and preparing my gear and luch ahead of time, so I don't have to rush or goi crazy in the very morning, etc.
What about you guys? care to share?

Corsaire :)
my commute is 11.5 miles one way, hilly course.

I fall asleep the night before on my loveseat/couch usually (generally between 11pm and 1 or 2am). Then I sort of wake up around 6am sometimes, remain on the couch for a while... maybe hit the dvd remote and hope something comes on... fall back asleep... wake back up again around 7:30... roll off the couch... check email... news... look for brownies, or cereal or oatmeal or soda.. or beer.. go back to room... stare at computer... 8:30 rolls around I consider the possibilities of showering... I do so, usually... use all the hot water standing around in the shower... come back out... stare at the computer while drying... or the dvd... or the wall... consider the possibilities of clothing myself but usually end up in yesterday's clothes again for the most part... consider preparing lunch but don't... put on helmet or whatever I need, boots... all that stuff... roll out between 8:51am and 9:03am and get to work around 9:01am to 9:16am. Well, I'll stop at this point.

I'm tired, need more, nay- some vitamins.

I don't think I have adjusted my lifestyle. I try to eat healthier, but that is part of the effort, not a consequence from commuting by bike. My schedule is more flexible because I can leave home / work whenever I want, not having to look at timetables. I am perhaps more organized when it comes to bike related gear, because IMO there is nothing more frustrating than spending an extra 15 minutes in the morning looking for your helmet / gloves / bike keys / whatever, all dressed up for the ride. Other than that I am pretty much my old, bohemian self.

--J

I pay closer attention to the weather forecast now.

I've adjusted pretty much as you have, Corsaire. I ride 4 to 5 times a week now, 11-13 miles, 500ft elevation gain on the way to work. I don't necessarily go to bed earlier, but I fall asleep faster. I get my clothing ready the night before (so no mad panic to iron a shirt in the morning), normally pack my lunch up in the evening and just cruise in the morning. I wake up at 0620 and usually leave home around 0700 to 0715, arriving at work around 0800.

I've always eaten reasonably healthy foods (I like to cook, especially with fresh ingredients - none of that packaged garbage!), but now I tend to eat more.

It's a change from the non-bike-commuting lifestyle, but definitely a change for the better!

I pay closer attention to the weather forecast now.
Forgot about that... www.weather.com has become my second most visited site now (after bikeforums.net, of course!

I didn't like the forcasts Weather.com gave out, so I use NOOA http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ been more acruate then weather.

As for me I commute everyday. I get home wind down for an hour, hit the rack sleep for 2 hours, pee, sleep another 2 hours, pee, this goes on for the 8 hours I've designated for laying in bed. Then it's up computer stuff, TV stuff, and off to work. Oh, I've taken to leaving early to get a stop in at Caribou Coffee, and lounge in the sun for a half hour, and make phone calls, then it's the last five miles to work.

I find I don't ride as much on the weekend so that I'm not too toasted to be able to ride into work on Monday :)

I find that I don't ride as much on the weekend so that I'm not too toasted to be able to ride into work on Monday :)

Forgot about that... www.weather.com has become my second most visited site now (after bikeforums.net, of course!

I refer to the weather channel as the place that brings you the weather forcast for everyplace but where you want it. I think of www.weather.com as bringing you the "current" weather from an hour ago.

I know it is just my perception, but it does feel like to always need to check the weather on the 10's, so I am always just missing the local radar and getting the weather for Estonia or Papua New Guinea. I still use both (TV and Web) now and then, but I may start checking out the NOAA site mentioned above.

If you're where you have internet but no TV (like at work),
also try wunderground. (http://wunderground.com)

I get everything ready the night before. Get up at 5:30 or 6:00AM. Shower, dress, eat, attatch the panniers, and head out. I also fall asleep faster now. Don't go to bed any earlier. Actually get up 30 minutes earlier. My drive to work takes 10-15 minutes. My commute by bike takes 25-35 minutes. That is 6.5 miles one way with some hill minor hill climbing.

I don't know about you guys, but commuting to work (when I do it, that's about three time a week) has made me readjust my lifestyle, at least during the evenings/nights prior to my next day commute: meaning I want to go to bed earlier than usual so I'm rested for my commute (workout), I find myself eating better, and preparing my gear and luch ahead of time, so I don't have to rush or goi crazy in the very morning, etc.
What about you guys? care to share?

Corsaire :)
my commute is 11.5 miles one way, hilly course.

Very interesting. I don't commute every day but I ride everyday, usually 15-20 miles at a pretty agressive paste. One thing I have learned is that when i ride I am ready for bed much earlier. With kids, work etc. and throwing in the bike ride, i am usually spent by 9PM.

I started to worry that something was wrong with me since i was so tired. However, on the rare day that i don't ride i seem to be not nearly as tired and could stay up very late. I also usually get up a bit earlier when i ride and that probably contributes as well.

I didn't like the forcasts Weather.com gave out, so I use NOOA http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ been more acruate then weather.

Thanks, naisme. :D

I've always used weather.com as a rough guideline only and have found it to be wanting at times, but just never got enthused about finding an alternative. I'll start using NOOA and see how it goes!

I don't find any change at all. I keep the rain gear on the bike at all times so it is always ready. Consequently, I don't bother checking the weather -- if i see it's cold/rainy, I put stuff on. Otherwise, I just hop on and go. I use the bike just as I would use my cars -- I just enjoy it much more.

Paul

It may not be appropriate to bring this up on the forum. One of the surprising "benefits" I've seen since I started commuting and light touring on bike is that my intimacy level (with my wife, of course) has gone up in general, not that I didn't have enough drive before. I don't know whether it's because of more active lifestyle I have now as result of commuting on bike or it just has to do with biking alone. I know it might sound funny, but I've found it certainly interesting/surprising.

It may not be appropriate to bring this up on the forum. One of the surprising "benefits" I've seen since I started commuting and light touring on bike is that my intimacy level (with my wife, of course) has gone up in general, not that I didn't have enough drive before. I don't know whether it's because of more active lifestyle I have now as result of commuting on bike or it just has to do with biking alone. I know it might sound funny, but I've found it certainly interesting/surprising.

A week or two ago, I was being "intimate" with my g/f and suddenly realized I was thinking about upgrades I was doing to my bike. :o :eek: oy.

[QUOTE=Wasatch_commute] One of the surprising "benefits" I've seen since I started commuting and light touring on bike is that my intimacy level (with my wife, of course) has gone up in general, not that I didn't have enough drive before. QUOTE]

I'm there with you. I just turned 20 in December so I still have a sex drive like a rabbit that just got out of jail, but man, after getting in better shape I've found the same has happened to me. My girlfriend was the first to notice. Kinda makes you strut, ya know. The pleasures of bike commuting.

I don't know about you guys, but commuting to work (when I do it, that's about three time a week) has made me readjust my lifestyle...
I'll take it a step further. Commuting to work on my bike has changed the way I think.

Since resuming commuting, I sleep better, feel better & enjoy life a lot/so does my wife. Also agree it changed the way I think, gave me lots more time to reflect & puzzle things out on the ride with the result I'm probably more sanguine than ever at work.(Feel better = more positive attitude) Don

Actually, most of the changes in my own lifestyle happened before I started commuting to work. If anything, commuting was just a way I could get more km in (and pay my way through university). And during my working life, I've never know anything else.

Yup, I try be in bed by 20:30 (fall asleep in 30-60 minutes if I'm relaxed), up at 5. I eat WAY better than I used to, and I actually fit more in each day then I used to when I commuted by car.
Most of the change was mental though (as LittleBigMan) said).

It may not be appropriate to bring this up on the forum. One of the surprising "benefits" I've seen since I started commuting and light touring on bike is that my intimacy level (with my wife, of course) has gone up in general, not that I didn't have enough drive before. I don't know whether it's because of more active lifestyle I have now as result of commuting on bike or it just has to do with biking alone. I know it might sound funny, but I've found it certainly interesting/surprising.

Ditto. The wife has never been happier since I started commuting by bike. :)

I found the mental stuff out when I first started back riding ten years ago. What I've discovered since, is if I don't ride two days in a row my mental health usually plunges, so riding is an antidepressant in that respect.
I tend to agree with all the above, but most about the lifestyle is how it effects everything I do. I plan my day a little more, where I can connect the dots on the way to work, stopping to get gorceries on the way or a new tube, a magazine, a coffee. With the car there was a lot more spur of the moment travel. Then there is the way I treat myself. Since I am now the engine, I take inventory of the pieces, how are my legs doing, what's the twinge in the lower back, move my hand its going numb, what can I do to help me do this better.
I think part of the lifestyle is the dreams we have that weren't there or we wouldn't have thought possible before we started commuting. We read it here all the time: A newer member starts out 2-3 times a week, suddenly is doing it more, and shunning the car, and then talking about biking in a brevet, or the lofty heights of a bike tour across the state, or the country. Okay, not all the newbies go through this, I'm speaking more from my own vantage point, as I wrestle with the desire to get on a bike and pedal across country. I think that's part of the lifestyle as well.
Another is explaining all the reasons you don't drive, own a car, or want a car, why you prefer riding, and will argue at a dinner party that bicycles have a right to the road, because the sidewalk isn't safe. It certainly makes for more interesting conversation than tree hugging. I love the factoids I can throw out, how cars raise property taxes, and values, because parking lots and ramps take lots that could be developed for city businesses, and housing, the more ramps, the more real estate value goes up, the more it goes up the less advantaged can live close to work, so poverty goes up, rise in poverty, drugs and crime go up...yada yada yada...
So, by commuting I'm fighting urban sprawl, poverty, crime, drugs, saving my life, the planet, and changing the minds and ways of thinking by being an example. (I'm really digging a hole in my cheek with my tongue on this one).
But mostly I think of the lifestyle as a way of nonviolent protest, and way cool. Who cares if no one else gets it, I do.

But mostly I think of the lifestyle as a way of nonviolent protest, and way cool. Who cares if no one else gets it, I do.

I agree with the mental health aspect. My patience and calm nature (which I have little of both) have definitely been on the increase since I began biking to work. Maybe it's because I feel less in control of the world when I'm biking, and thus less likely to try to manipulate it...But your statement above about the nonviolent protest resonates with me! Thank you for that spark of realization. I began biking to work 2 years ago for very practical reasons. But I do think it makes a very healthy statement about how we should live our lives.

Chuck

I agree with the mental health aspect. My patience and calm nature (which I have little of both) have definitely been on the increase since I began biking to work. Maybe it's because I feel less in control of the world when I'm biking, and thus less likely to try to manipulate it...But your statement above about the nonviolent protest resonates with me! Thank you for that spark of realization. I began biking to work 2 years ago for very practical reasons. But I do think it makes a very healthy statement about how we should live our lives.

Chuck


Bicycling to work makes me energetic and predispode to my work, and love the preparations and anticipation that comes with knowing that next morning I'll be riding. Makes me eath healthier too.
[B]
Corsaire :)


"Security is only a superstition, it does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
Hellen Keller

A week or two ago, I was being "intimate" with my g/f and suddenly realized I was thinking about upgrades I was doing to my bike. :o :eek: oy.

Is that not normal? :eek:

I think more about the weather, what clothes I'll wear during and after the ride, and do my tires have enough air. The ride to work feels more like an adventure with no radio and no mug of coffee. My mind seems to go into a zen like fog followed by an endorphin rush.

Lately I've been thinking about the boys in Iraq giving their lives for us and our profound dependence on foreign oil (Bin Laden is not in Iraq! :mad: ). I feel like I'm standing for a cause as I pedal past stopped traffic.

The wife notices the change in attitude, color in my face and tighter abs.

I don't know about you guys, but commuting to work (when I do it, that's about three time a week) has made me readjust my lifestyle, at least during the evenings/nights prior to my next day commute: meaning I want to go to bed earlier than usual so I'm rested for my commute (workout), I find myself eating better, and preparing my gear and luch ahead of time, so I don't have to rush or goi crazy in the very morning, etc.
What about you guys? care to share?

Corsaire :)
my commute is 11.5 miles one way, hilly course.

When I commute by bike it makes a fairly big change in my day. I don't like being late for any reason, so I leave with plenty of time whether driving or riding. I get up at 3:00 or 3:15 when riding in, and 5:00 when driving. It's pretty hard not to reset the alarm and roll over for that extra two hours sleep. If I'm worked 10 hours, then I get off at 6:00 PM and have to ride the 23.5 miles home with a quartering headwind. I have NO trouble whatsoever sleeping after I commute by bike. Starting with Bike to Work Week this year, the weather should be good enough that I'll be trying at least twice, hopefully three times a week commuting. I think getting everything ready the night before is a good habit to develop, whether we drive or ride in the next day. My biggest obstacle to an every day commute is the effort it would take to ride the 46.75 miles per day with delivering mail for 5-7 hours in between.

When I commute via bike in the morning, my mood is improved greatly. Man, am I a grouch in the morning!

With a 35-mile ride each way, it definitely impacts my day. I'm pretty new to the bike commuting thing; this is the first week I've done the ride twice. My gym at the office is conveniently open 22.5 hours a day but is inconveniently closed from 8:30 til 10:00 each morning. So, I've got to plan ahead to make sure I can get in and showered in time. After a flat last week, I got in at 8:10.

I'm in the Air Force, and I find the blue polyester I'm honored to wear doesn't do well on the bike or in a back pack, so I've been bringing spare uniforms to work. It means I just have to plan ahead a bit.

My diet has changed as well. I typically eat salad for lunch, but on ride days, I've been substituting OJ, V-8, and pasta. Atkins can kiss my sore behind.

The mental thing is the coolest part. At first, I felt stranded at work when I rode my bike. If something happened, I'd have no way to get home. But, this week, I had to take my car into the shop. I brought my bike along just in case it didn't get done. Sure enough, it didn't. 2 straight days of riding (with a subway assist one morning) put me at 120 miles in two days. That has given me the confidence that I'm not dependent on my car.

Atkins can kiss my sore behind. Well, he could if he weren't dead...

[The mental thing is the coolest part. At first, I felt stranded at work when I rode my bike. If something happened, I'd have no way to get home. But, this week, I had to take my car into the shop. I brought my bike along just in case it didn't get done. Sure enough, it didn't. 2 straight days of riding (with a subway assist one morning) put me at 120 miles in two days. That has given me the confidence that I'm not dependent on my car.[/QUOTE]

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That's a loooong commute bro! How about cutting it in half to make things...say more manageable.
Corsaire ;)