My car broke down, and mr being a poor college student i dont have money to fix it. So i have been living car free for about three weeks.and i was wondering tips and pointer in order to keep this continuing. I use just a very standard road bike 1985 trek 460 with no bells or wistles and a backpack to tote my things around. School books,work vloths ect. Any advice??
Get good lights if you ride at all around the times it gets dark. Water bottle holder is nice to have. Get rain gear. And pay attention to everything on the road, act like everyone is out to kill you because most of them are.
More importantly keep your bike in good working order, its much cheaper to keep up with than a car, but worth it if you don't want to get stranded somewhere. Depending on how much you're used to getting around by bike be sure to leave yourself plenty of time on longer excursions in case you need a brake or need to slow down. Also get to know the way around hills where you live. If you're in a city like mine the most direct path may have you go down an up a really steep hill, but if you go a bit out of your way it will be almost completely flat, sometimes saves time, otherwise just saves some energy.
Use both a U-lock and a strong cable lock - and use at least one of the locks to connect to something that cannot move. If you are without a car and have only one bike, then the last thing you need is some low-life stealing your bike for their next fix.
As per earlier suggestions - get good lights and plenty of reflectors. Be as high-visibility as possible. In general, reflectors that are close to the ground are more effective, this is especially the case for times when cars are driving on low-beam.
Also get full-length fenders and good rain gear. For heavier loads, you are way better with a rack and panniers than a backpack - unless your rides are usually very short, for me that would have to be less than a mile.
Carry a small pump, spare inner-tube and tire levers. Make sure the inner tube has the right type (and length) of valve. Don't replace an inner tube without first finding (and fixing) the cause of any puncture. I find not moving the flat inner tube too much relative to the tire helps with locating the cause of a puncture.
Welcome to living car-free. After a while you will have a whole new appreciation for logistics.
LOL The End is Nigh (for 80% of middle class North Americans) - I sneer in their general direction.
If you are saving money by not having a car, put some of it in a rainy day fund. You will need to repair your bike and, in the long run, having a good running bike is where you will want to be. So have some dinhero available will help...
I hope this doesn't sound facetious, but I think it's important to relax and have fun. You will learn a lot by experience, and you might make a few mistakes along the way. It might be difficult at first, but many people who were "forced" to be carfree have been surprised to discover that it's fun as well as economical and practical.
Good luck!
"Think Outside the Cage"
I was wondering if there are any buses you can take because riding each day can be too much for a begining commuter.
That said, I would invest in a Take A Look mirror and learn how to use one. You need to see the cars coming from behind. Since you are riding each day, replace the rear tire (or both) with Schwalbe Marathons. Don't park your bike in the school bike rack but a location away from foot traffic where it's not visible. Also, a class 3 reflective vest would be a good investment. I have one of these and they are SUPER BRIGHT and the cars do respect me! You can fine ones that are less expensive.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...%3Divns&itbs=1
All the above.
2008 Kona Fire Mountain/Xtracycle
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I void warranties.
Cycling well IS Cycling Advocacy
Originally Posted by Steely Dan: if you're riding a bike and not having fun, then you're doing it wrong.
This is a good thing. Many students are car-free. So it's nothing to feel bad about. I was car-free as a student and in the last weeks before graduation I was so poor that when the frame of my bike broke, I held it together with baling wire and turnbuckles. That lasted till 3 days after graduation, which was long enough. That summer I walked or took the bus while I looked for my first career job.Originally Posted by Medicine_Man
It's also starting you on what can become a life-time good habit. Try to look at using a car as the exception done only when necessary and keep your life simpler. I will also bet that regulars of this forum are slimmer than their average counterparts. Bicycling burns calories and if you don't compensate for the extra burning by extra eating or drinking, you'll stay slim.
It looks like you have a good start, a bike and a backpack. That and lights are all you need at minimum. My current commuter/utility bike is a 24 year old hard frame mountain bike. I've put on fenders, lights, street slicks, a two water bottle racks, a package rack on the back and hang shopping panniers on it when I need to. A reflective safety vest like road workers wear is good. My tools are simple, a pump, a patch kit and tire levers. In 35 years, I rarely have ever needed any other tools. I always patch a tire first, it doesn't take that long, I replace tubes at home after they have enough patches.
Now you didn't tell us where you live, and that makes a big difference. Minnesota, New York City, Arkansas, Southern California would all take much different advice to account for climate and terrain.
Rain is a question of debate. When the rain is warm, I just carry an extra set of clothes in a plastic bag and get wet riding. Otherwise you sweat so much with a rain coat on that you get just as wet but you smell worse. If the rain is cold, then you want a rain coat.
As others have advised, get as much of a lock as you need to. This varies depending on where you are. A nationally rated cycling advocate, giving a workshop for local advocates rented a bike here and he was heard to comment, "I can't believe that I'm locking a carbon fiber bike with a curly cable." So what you need is determined by where you are.
As Roody said, take the time to enjoy bicycling. Yesterday I went down to a local MUP and photographed cyclists riding by for an article about bicycling opportunities in the Spring that I wrote for a local alternative paper. There were times when no one was in sight of where I was, I just shared the forest with the wind, the trees and the birds.
I'd say go a step further. If you can, get involved with others who are bicycling. Whether it's a bike club, this forum, a bicycle advocacy group helping to improve conditions where you live, you'll enjoy the company of people who like bikes as you do. For commuting advice, check out the commuting forum.
Last but not least, if you are serious about continuing bicycling, get a second bike. It gives you a little variety and inevitably, there will be that morning when you have a final, and you notice that a tire has gone flat overnight or something on your main bike needs major repair. Your beater bike doesn't have to be a great bike. You might find it at a thrift store, a bike coop, a garage sale, an estate sale.
The bike I mentioned at the beginning was such a bike. I was approaching graduation. I had two other bikes but both needed new wheels and other things, the repairs cost more than I could afford just then. I was so desperate that I grabbed a bike that my brother had abandoned and left to sit in the rain on the porch for several years. I pumped up the tires and lubed the chain and what do you know, the tires held air and the wheels went around and the ultimate beater bike was born. It worked fine for two weeks until the downtube and the bottom bracket separated, and with two weeks to go, I wired them back together and made it through graduation. After it died, I stripped all the useable parts off it. The derailleur is still on my current beater bike, a 10 speed made in 1973.
Last edited by Artkansas; 04-30-12 at 09:53 AM.
"When you strip it all away, there is only God." - George Harrison
On giving up:
Everyone knows that Christopher Columbus discovered the New World for Spain on his first voyage. But few people realize that on his 4th voyage, Columbus gave up, turned back and sailed for home; within 10 miles of where he could have discovered the Pacific Ocean.
Very helpful! I live in Arlington, TX so its a heavily populated suberb. So the rain wpupd be warm i suppose. The hardest thing is cycling when my legs are sore. I dont cycle very far, the farthest thing is my girlftiends houae which is about 15miles so i never cycle more than 30-40 miles a day. But cycling everyday begins to take a toll so i am wondering how do i commute in a non biker friendly community, and combat sore legs??
The answer to sore legs is simply to get fitter. As you get used to it the soreness will disappear.
As for commuting in a non biker friendly community, what is the problem? Traffic? Fear of getting mugged? In either case, examine the possibility of alternative, less threatening, routes. You'll get more accustomed to traffic, but there are places - often major intersections - that are difficult to negotiate, especially for the inexperienced.
"I'm not crazy; I've just been in a very bad mood for forty years."
True, and the other answer is to cruise in an easier gear.
"Think Outside the Cage"
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