kndred

Hey!

After selling my car, and relocating cross-country to Southern CA I realized that I would probably need to get to work if I planned on living here permanently. I began researching bikes, and the best type to get to work, for <5mi of riding daily.

It seems like when I was a kid all you had to do was go to Target (or the like) and get a bike for something around $70. I thought it would be that simple as an adult (26) - DELUSIONAL. Being on a (tight) budget I settled on a Huffy road bike from Walmart, which fortunately ended up "lost in transit" after having it shipped to the store. It was a minor setback, but it made me get out and look at shops in the area, and allowed me to save more $.

Fast-Forward to this weekend --> I just purchased a Haro Express Sport comfort/commuter bicycle from a wonderful local bike shop. It was the combination of the extremely helpful owners (husband & wife), and finally finding a bike that was comfortable for me (6'1") that led to the purchase. I added the water-holder-cage-thingy, and a rear rack to the bike.

So tomorrow I begin my work commute. My plan is to begin by riding the 1mile to the necessary bus for work, and the 1.5 mile from the bus stop to the office until I gain enough stamina and strength to attempt more of the commute by bike. I learned 2 days ago while testing my path to the bus that I'm badly out of shape, and that what appears to be the slightest incline while traveling by car majorly killed my legs.

Today I'm off to get a lock and a saddle bag for necessaries (and hopefully I can carry lunch in it as well) today.

Does anyone have suggestions, tips, recommendations for being completely out of shape, and handling the hills of SoCal?

z90

Just keep at it. It gets easier, and then it gets to be addictive. The good news is it is an addiction with entirely positive consequences. Check out the commuting forum, lot of good info there. Welcome to bike forums!

10 Wheels

Use both brakes at the same time with equal force.

Start up on hills in your very easiest gearing. See how slow you can go up the hill.
Later when you become stronger, do it any way you want.

Keep your tires aired up. Get a good floor pump with a gauge for home.

Carry a spare tube, levers, frame pump for flats on the road.

Get some lights and a Hi Vis Vest.

10 Wheels

Welcome to Bike Forums.
Moving this to Commuting.
Have Fun.

JohnJ80

Also, just to be clear - you understand how to use the gears on your bike?

J.

keiththesnake

And, just be clear, don't forget to be visible and confident. Maybe a high-vis vest, a helmet, sunglasses, gloves and lights? There's a website by a guy named Paul Dorn that helped me -- but hunting around on these forums was great.

Sounds like you've got a perfectly manageable commute, and you've got a plan. Take it easy, and you'll soon wonder why you ever bought a car in the first place. What a great way to get around -- it provides stress relief, exercise, sunshine, gas savings and the sublime happiness that you had as a kid.

xtrajack

All the above, especially post #2.

rex_kramer

It's totally doable. Take breaks from the bike if need be (listen to your body) but do not stop trying.

Hippiebrian

Keep at it! I started this time ( I cycled a lot in the 80's, but stopped for some reason...okay, it was laziness...) and climbing the hills to work would leave me just short of not being able to talk anymore with the huffing and the puffing and the sweating and the crying, but now 50+ miles is no big deal. Keep it up, don't be afraid to walk it up a few hills if you need to, and have fun with it!

By the way, where in socal? I'm here in Long Beach, where the sewer meets the sea!

Artkansas 

When you're getting started. Take the others advice. If you need to stop, stop and rest, no shame in that.

I used to be car-free in L.A.. It can be done. Bike racks on buses and bikes on trains make it a whole lot easier than when I was there.

Have fun.

kndred

z90 - The commuter forums were very helpful (before I purchased, and joined) I will definitely be reading more there!

10 Wheels - Thanks for the info! I definitely want to make sure that I have all the necessities like tools, vest, tube etc... Thats one thing I keep reading on every site.

JohnJ80 - I believe so. My bike is 7 gears; 7 rear, 3 front. I basically went off of the way it feels - lower gears for less resistance (like inclines) etc... From what I've researched I should never shift when putting pressure on the bike, so kind of let up as I shift? And then keep my left (front) gear around 2, and only use 1 & 3 for extreme situations. Do you have any other tips?

Keiththesnake - Right now it's manageable. When I initially researched biking as a way to commute I thought the 7.5 mile ride to work would be a struggle, but completely doable. But after biking the hills of Northern San Diego for only 2 miles I realize that I definitely have to work up to it.

xtrajack - lol, thanks.

rex_kramer - Thanks, after only 1.5 miles my legs were basically shot. I walked the bike for a minute or 2 to the plateau in the street and got back on and pushed towards the finish line (a nice big dip in the street).

hippiebrian - Thanks for the encouraging words! Right now 5 miles seems like I'd probably be dead on the side of the street from some sort of coronary malfunction. It makes me wonder just how active I was as a kid that I could bike miles every day. The joys of sedentary adulthood. Oh, by the way, I'm in North County San Diego.

Artkansas - I gladly welcome all advice. Sometimes I want to stop bikers on the street just to ask them how the heck they do it, because it is truly amazing to be in that great of shape!

kndred

I probably shouldn't start a new thread for this (especially since I'm asking before actually searching the forums) but ...

Is it uncommon to commute with your lunch in your saddle bag? Does anyone actually use a saddle bag for this purpose as well? I ask because I don't really carry enough to warrant panniers for my commute (to work) - at least I don't think, and everything I've read pretty much says backpacks wouldn't work for me (because I don't want to change clothes etc...).

Also I seem to see most commuters in my area (North San Diego) wearing the bike shorts, shirts, full on body suits like they're in the Tour de France. However so many online seem to be against this. Is it more preference in weight for the commute (normal clothing vs. bike clothing) or people wanting to appear as serious riders?

Leisesturm

Technically, your bike is 21 gears . Some of the combinations you won't (shouldn't) use. Back in the day there used to be all kinds of nifty shifting sequences for two chainwheels and five rear cogs: alpine, half-step, cross-over... these days the plan you advocate predominates. However, you should plan to use 1 and 3 for much more than just extremes. An early cycling text put it this way "on level ground you should barely feel any pedal resistance". Too bad I didn't listen, back then it was all about mashing the big gears and it really feels much better than spinning wildly with no resistance. Wrong. In that middle chainwheel that is to become your new best friend you should probably not be much more than halfway down the rear cog. In fact that is probably too high for level cruising. But feel it out, if you have to err, err on the side of the pedaling being easy. You actually can shift with some load on the gears, i.e. more than you think, especially rear shifts. Front shifts down to an easier gear can also happen under some load. This works better with racing level components but a new, low end ride should still be capable of snappy, accurate, shifting while everything is clean and adjusted. Get in the habit now of shifting often to keep your leg speed high. In fact, you should occasionally shift up (or down) a gear from the one you are in. The worst that can happen is you will not like it. So. Shift back to the gear you were in. After a while you will know the correct gear to use for a given level of incline (or headwind!). This will help you become a better cyclist, down the road nyuk, nyuk. Good luck.

H

CbadRider

Welcome, there are a lot of riders here from North SD County.

There is nothing wrong with carrying your lunch in your saddle bag, if it will fit. I have a smallish bag and use it to store tools and stuff for changing a flat so there's not much room for anything else.

Wear whatever clothes are comfortable for you to ride in. My one-way commute is 17 hilly miles (from the coast to RB) and it takes me almost 90 minutes so I wear cycling clothes for comfort. I wear regular clothes if I'm riding my hybrid bike a shorter distance, but I always wear cycling clothes when I'm on my road bike because of comfort.

JohnJ80

Leisesturm is getting at the point here. You need to have a relatively high cadence (speed of pedaling in RPM) and low resistance to the pedals - they should be easy to turn with very light resistance. If it is hard and slower than that, you will find that you tire much, much more quickly - especially whenever you meet an slight hill (as you describe).

J.

Monster Pete

That's a fairly good approach to use and is the one I taught my housemate when he got a bike. Ride mainly on the middle chainring, and if 7th gear isn't high enough, go to the 3rd chainring and shift down a few at the rear, or the reverse if 1st gear isn't low enough. You should avoid gears which run the chain at an extreme angle i.e. 6-7 on the small chainring and 1-2 on the large.