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06-28-10, 11:42 AM
Hi all. I'm a resident of Orange, work in Costa Mesa. Last week I decided to start taking the bus to work (long story why, summarized as I'm sick of driving). To make things a little easier, I brought my bike along to get to and from the stops.
I quickly found I was using the bike much more than I expected. Just missed a bus connection? No problem, hop on the bike and start riding. Either I make it to my next connection before the next bus (which isn't scheduled for another 20 minutes) arrives, or the next bus catches up with me and I grab it.
Well, on Friday I played that game, fully expecting to end up on a bus eventually. 1 hour and 9.2 miles later I found myself home, earlier than if I had caught the original bus. I actually caught up to and passed a bus in downtown Santa Ana. I could have gotten on, but decided to keep on pedaling instead. That felt GREAT.
So now I'm preparing to transition to a regular bike commute. This week is a trial week where I'll be busing to work in the morning and biking home. I hope to build up some strength and endurance so I can do the morning commute in a decent amount of time without arriving to work sweaty and exhausted (though we do have a gym with a shower if I need it).
I'm excited. I've long considered doing the bicycle commute thing and I'm thrilled that I finally found the entry point. Now, if only they'd get rid of that stupid 10MPH speed limit on the Santa Ana River Trail...
I quickly found I was using the bike much more than I expected. Just missed a bus connection? No problem, hop on the bike and start riding. Either I make it to my next connection before the next bus (which isn't scheduled for another 20 minutes) arrives, or the next bus catches up with me and I grab it.
Well, on Friday I played that game, fully expecting to end up on a bus eventually. 1 hour and 9.2 miles later I found myself home, earlier than if I had caught the original bus. I actually caught up to and passed a bus in downtown Santa Ana. I could have gotten on, but decided to keep on pedaling instead. That felt GREAT.
So now I'm preparing to transition to a regular bike commute. This week is a trial week where I'll be busing to work in the morning and biking home. I hope to build up some strength and endurance so I can do the morning commute in a decent amount of time without arriving to work sweaty and exhausted (though we do have a gym with a shower if I need it).
I'm excited. I've long considered doing the bicycle commute thing and I'm thrilled that I finally found the entry point. Now, if only they'd get rid of that stupid 10MPH speed limit on the Santa Ana River Trail...