Commuting - first commute

Ok- after much planning and organizing, I did my first commute today. I think I got more than one envious stare from people trapped inside of their cars. The funny thing was, that I actually thought about stopoping at Starbucks on the way in this am. It seemed like such an easy thing, whereas before, it always felt like such a hastle. turn right, park, get out of car...etc... traffic wasn't bad except when I went by the high school where there were many anxious youngsters and parents dropping off the kids... At work I can actually keep my bike inside, I have a uniform (I'm a chef) so clothes are not an issue, and we have a shower here, too. So, what a great experience. It i62 here in NC today, and I am eagerly awaiting the ride home. Thanks to this forum for the confidence to do this and all the questiions that have been answered without my even havu=ing to ask...happy trails

Congratulations Sunnybear! Sounds like you had a great experience. Hope there are many more to come!:)

Fantastic!

:D

YOU LUCKY DUCK!!!!!! You got it made! How far is your commute?

Good job. I'm glad to hear you had a good experience.

andy

This retired commuter was very pleased to hear of your experience! Cheers and stuff. :beer:

Originally posted by JonR
This retired commuter was very pleased to hear of your experience! Cheers and stuff. :beer:
(I hope that means you are retired from work, not cycling! ;) )

Sunnybear, we're proud of you. Keep it up! You'll be a veteran soon and can start encouraging others who are "thinking about" commuting. Congrats!

Originally posted by LittleBigMan

(I hope that means you are retired from work, not cycling! ;) )
Sometimes I wonder, Pete--I mean LittleBigMan, or whoever you are today. :D Just can't get up any enthusiasm. Oh, yeah, I know it doesn't just bloom by itself, enthusiasm; but for all my deep and hard-won wisdom and experience I can't figure out how to resuscitate it.... :(

Sometimes I think if I had medical insurance it would help get me on the road, but really I think that's just a convenient excuse for staying off the saddle(s).

Anyway, to wrap this post up on a more upbeat note, I will testify that my bike commuting brought me a lot more pleasure and benefit than it did discomfort. LOTS more.

Originally posted by JonR
Sometimes I wonder, Pete--I mean LittleBigMan, or whoever you are today. :D Just can't get up any enthusiasm. Oh, yeah, I know it doesn't just bloom by itself, enthusiasm; but for all my deep and hard-won wisdom and experience I can't figure out how to resuscitate it.... :(
I for one am glad you have jumped on the the forums.

Can't say I have the answer (now isn't that refreshing! ;) )

Originally posted by LittleBigMan


Can't say I have the answer (now isn't that refreshing! ;) )
Perhaps you should ask Pete. He knows e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!:D

Congrats, sunnybear, I can't wait for the warmer weather to start here (-32C. windchill this AM!) so I can rejoin the ranks of bike commuters.

re commute to work sounds great

i had to commute into glasgow this week what an experience
only had to go 4 miles into work and return at nite to my cousins..
scarey first day as the centre of glasgow is not known for being cycle friendly
:mad:
the bus cycle lane are a joke in the centre of town doin battle with loadsa busses is no fun after 4 days i got used to it
i will probably have to do it again next week as there is a
off and on train strike...small commute from pollockshields to glasgow
not bad....girvan to glasgow 60 miles impossible

i doff my cycling helmet to couriers and fellow cyclists who cycle
into big cities :beer:

Originally posted by stever

i doff my cycling helmet to couriers and fellow cyclists who cycle
into big cities :beer:
As a (former) rush-hour bike commuter and a fellow admirer of couriers, Thanks! :)

Hey...
Thanks...
My 2nd day in today (I promise that this won't end up being a play-by-play) but another great ride... I only almost got hit twice going home 2 days ago and had to work at night yesterday, so I'm not brave enough yet to try the ride home in the dark but I am quickly learning that people in cars (around here in Raleigh, NC, at least) are not used to looking out for people on a bike. Timing traffic lights and watching out for opening car doors is an art quickly learned and I am looking for ways to extend my route already. :)

Originally posted by sunnybear
Timing traffic lights and watching out for opening car doors is an art quickly learned and I am looking for ways to extend my route already. :)

Never ride close enough to parked cars to get doored. Seriously. Monitoring every parked car takes too much attention away from the road. It's not something drivers have to do, and it's not something a cyclist should have to do either.

If you have to take the lane, take the lane. Drivers will be able to see you better if you're in a place where they expect other traffic to be. Don't weave into and out of the thru lane around parked cars; that makes you unpredictable, more dangerous and annoying to drivers, and more in danger yourself.

Being predictable, acting like traffic, being well-lighted when visibility is poor, and asserting your role as a vehicle by by riding confidently straight ahead and following traffic laws... these are the ways you stay safe and avoid conflict. Cowering off to the side sends a clear message that you want to be passed, and drivers will often do so even when it's not safe.

RichC

Thanks- yes that is all good advice. I suppose in a nutshell what I meant to convey was that I quickly am learning to be more defensive. I don't weave in and out of traffic in a car or on my bike. That is just asking for trouble and putting myself and other people at unnecessary risk.

Good advice.

I make one small modification in the script when I ride: if there are two or three cars behind me, and there's a place coming up that's, say, a third of a block long where there are no cars parked, I will dip into that space long enough for the cars to pass me, then out again on the open road and continue. I feel it's plain even (!) to motorists what I'm doing then, and not a source of confusion.

Originally posted by JonR
if there are two or three cars behind me, and there's a place coming up that's, say, a third of a block long where there are no cars parked, I will dip into that space long enough for the cars to pass me, then out again on the open road and continue.

Oh, I agree. It's not just common courtesy for a slow-moving vehicle to allow following traffic to pass when it's safe to do so, in some places it's even required by law. I often add a "wave-on" gesture to make it clear that I'm pulling over to let myself be passed.

And those sorts of courtesies, I feel, help offset some of the annoyance and anger drivers can accumulate towards cyclists who ride more selfishly.

RichC

Originally posted by Rich Clark

...those sorts of courtesies, I feel, help offset some of the annoyance and anger drivers can accumulate towards cyclists who ride more selfishly.



You and me both, Rich. :thumbup:

Originally posted by Rich Clark
Being predictable, acting like traffic...asserting your role as a vehicle by riding confidently straight ahead and following traffic laws... these are the ways you stay safe and avoid conflict. Cowering off to the side sends a clear message that you want to be passed, and drivers will often do so even when it's not safe.

This takes some practice and experience to do. But once mastered, it's safer. Riding where debris, gravel, sand and rough pavement can occur is very hazardous, indeed.

Like Rich and Jon, I will "help" motorists who won't, or can't, pass me, because it's sometimes wise. But that's the exception. I keep right, but I try to put the burden on the motorist behind me to exercise proper judgement in passing me. Passing motorists have the burden by law because they have the visibility and opportunity, while the frontward vehicle has the right-of-way. The frontward vehicle has no way of judging how or when the passer will execute a move, or how many vehicles will pass at a given time.

I work with timid drivers, but its safest not to help them too much. For me, it's like bending the rules for people who can't quite get it yet.

Sounds like a sensible, balanced approach to me. I believe it's also more or less what I do, in practice.