Commuting - Yet Another "My First Commute" Story

I did it. I made my first commute. Well, sort of. At least half of one. I rode 10 miles into work today, but I'm not going to ride home tonight. I'm going to work myself into this gradually. I want to see how I feel as the day progresses. But I can't wait until my next commute. I'm much more alert today than usual. Almost wired. Not the usual Monday-morning-dangit-why-wont-my-coffee-kick-in kind of morning.

I can see why so few people do this. The pedalling isn't a problem. However, the logistics are a pain. I outfitted my bike for commuting with lights, fenders, panniers, and tires with reflective sidewalls. I have a good place to lock up at work, and I have showers & lockers available. But still, there's a lot more to figure out in terms of finding a safe route, what to pack, how to pack, and what to do with your stuff when you get there. The route: My route is as safe as it can be given my start & stop points, but the traffic was not as good as I had hoped. Apparently, I found the "early" rush hour. Traffic around here moves in patterns. At 7:30, it's heavy, 7:00, not nearly as heavy, so I thought 6:30 would be good. Nope. This will take some trial & error to find the best time. What to pack: I was sure that I would get to work missing something, like a towel to dry off with after my shower, or no socks. I didn't forget anything. At least, nothing I needed assuming that the ride would be dry. I didn't pack any rain wear. A fact that became much more significant as I approached work and it started drizzling. I wound up making it before the rain started, but I guess I need look into getting some rain gear. I can see why many of you recommend leaving shoes at work. Those things take up a lot of room. I'm reconsidering hauling those for every trip. How to pack: I'll have to play around with my configuration to find what works best. I found myself rummaging through my panniers looking for things. They have plenty of room and compartments. I just need to work out a configuration that works. What to do with your stuff when you get there: What DO you all do with sweaty clothes after you get to work? Right now, I have a car parked at work that I'm using to store this stuff, but I want to eventually be able to do this without the "safety net" of a car.

I also wanted to comment on my lighting system. I have a rear blinkie and a Union sidewall generator system (headlight & tailight). I am quite happy with how well they work. When I left home this morning it was pretty dark, and I didn't have anyone act like they didn't see me, or saw me at the last minute. I had my wife run my bike up & down the street in front of our house a few nights ago, and I was surprised at the amount of light on the front and rear. I was apprehensive given the comments I've seen implying that these systems are inadequate. I'm not displeased at all. I might agree that you'd want more for offroading, but for my commute, they work fine.

Thanks to all here for the encouragements.

Superb! You're on your way!

I keep khakhi pants, belt, shoes in a drawer at work. The only clothes I take with me every day are shirt, undies, socks. Rolled up in a ziplock bag. Very light.

I keep unscented baby wipes at work, too, also cologne and comb. I don't drag a towel on my bike. Too bulky.

Bike clothes get hung up on a hook on my office door.

If you really want to carry a bath towel with you on the bike, consider a PackTowlPackTowl (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=11418303&parent_category_rn=4500614&vcat=REI_SEARCH) as it will take up considerably less space. It also wrings out very nicely so that it will dry quickly. I have one of these for camping, and it rolls up small enough to store in a TP tube.

Rain gear is a decision you have to make. Some choose to go without, as sweat and muck wash off in the shower when you get to the office.

I have a hanger on my cube wall which has clips along the bottom bar. I clip my sweaty gloves onto those, and then my shorts and jersey hang on the rest. They dry out nicely, and the air circulation keeps them from stinking.

I think you'll find that as you do it more often, you'll simplify. Simplify your route, simplify your packing, simplify your routine.

WRT the sweaty clothes and wet towel, I hang mine in the shower room. If you can do that, I'd recommend that. You don't want that stuff getting stinky and moldy in your bag or office if you can avoid it.

Congratulations!!

Yep, as you get into it you will develop a routine that will greatly simplfy the logistics. After a while it becomes the new routine. For drying I put towel and bike clothes on hangers hung on the back of the office door. A hook in a cubical would work fine too. I leave towel, shoes and tolietries at work so I only bring in underwear, pants, shirt, socks and it takes no time to grab those in the am. I swap out towels every few days. The only things that start to stink are those that don't get washed all the time ... gloves and sandals. My sandals were starting to stink so I was plastic bagging them last week, but over the weekend I soaked/washed them in a soap and bleach solution so now they can dry out too!

On hotter days I prefer being wet with cool rain water rather than sweat so I don't worry about rain gear right now.

As a fellow newbie to all of this, I stand back and offer a round of applause. Good work! Hang with it.

I did the second half of the commute (the ride home from work) last night. Mostly good, except for one intersection. It works well in one direction, but not the other. I've got to find an alternate route around it. I rode into work again this morning. I tried 10 minutes later. Not good. In that 10 minutes the high school busses came, thus unleashing hoards of waiting parents to join in on the Rush Hour 500. On my first ride to work, the first intersection I reached had about two cars waiting at the stop sign. Today, it was more like 30, including two school busses. How do you guys handle a line of cars like that at a stop sign? I filtered to the front, made my right turn and stayed next to the shoulder. Next time I'll try an earlier time. I also tweaked the route a little, eliminating one 4-lane section I didn't like. For you regulars, how often do you usually have to adjust your route until you are happy with it? I'm not as wired today as I was after my first ride. I may have to adjust my schedule and gradually work up to every day.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

I also tweaked the route a little, eliminating one 4-lane section I didn't like. For you regulars, how often do you usually have to adjust your route until you are happy with it?

I recommend using some kind of mapping software (Microsoft Streets & Trips worked great for me) to check for alternate routes. There might be sideroads you don't know about in your area. When I first started commuting about 3 years ago I made the initial mistake of riding along the main arterial roads. Big mistake. So I used Streets & Trips to study all the sideroads. I carefully mapped out a route, then brought the maps with me to check out the route. I only had to make a few adjustments, but I have stuck to the same route now for almost 3 years. The first 2 years I was a fair weather commuter, only commuting in late fall, winter and early spring (to avoid Houston heat and humidity, as well as rainy days). This last year I've been a full time commuter, riding every day in all kinds of weather. I don't use raingear in the summer, but I do use it when the temp and humidity is low enough.

Sverre