I've been wanting to commute to work for awhile now, but can't seem to get myself quite talked into it all the way yet. I have a few issues I need to work through to be certain. I'm hoping some folks here can help.
Some back story/information: I have a nice road bike already. 2008 CAAD9. It's a wonderful bike. I don't want to purchase a commuting only bike. I live in a condo with a baby on the way, and simply don't have the space to have two bikes. I have cold weather gear. I'll only be a semi-fair weather commuter, I don't want to ride in the rain mainly. The route to the office is mostly 2-lane low traffic back roads. The few sections that I need to use to get to the backroads from the condo have bike lanes, and are well lit.
Here's the bike I'll be riding:
Here are some things I have figured out already....
Fitness level.....I've been riding around 100mi/week for the last few months. I don't think tacking on an additional 25mi/day (12.5mi one way) will hurt me too badly. I'm hoping that I can do the tues/thurs club rides straight from the office. Making those days into 70+mi days overall. I'm training for a ride with some friends in a few months where we'll be doing 100+mi days for 14 days straight. We did 700mi in 7 days last year from Louisville to Philly, and I was in about the same condition I'm in now then. I don't see this as a problem, but I'm curious what the resident experts think.
Emergency "save-me" procedures...If something goes awry on my way into work, or the way home my wife works less then 5miles from my office, and I can wait for a pickup. Her boss is super-flexible on her arrive/depart times from work. So long as she gets her 40hrs in he's happy. If I get to work, and can't ride home for some reason, the boss has OK'd me taking a work truck home for the night if needed. So I have a bail out plan. I'm comfortable with that, although any tips would be appreciated here.
Equipment.....Like I said above I have a nice bike already. Dura-Ace shifters, full Ultegra driveline. I have full confidence in the bike to make the 12mi one-way trip to the office without problems. I typically ride out towards the office on the weekends, and stop in at the coffee shop next door for water breaks in the summer. I am going to swap out the carbon seatpost for an aluminum one, and get a small post-mount rack. I found one at the LBS that will accept a "trunkbag" that "clips" into the rack. Total cost isn't terribly high, and I think it will accept my work clothes without much trouble. I can make the 12mi trip in around 45min or so, and will be riding in the daylight. I already have a rear blinky (Planet bike), and have considered getting a front light for the attention of motorists mainly. I don't want fenders, or front racks, as I will simply drive in if it's raining. If it catches me off guard half way into the ride, I'll just get wet. Any other thoughts on equipment that I might need/want?
My biggest problem so far that I can't seem to make the jump for is how I clean up for my work day once at the office. My day can vary from meetings with clients all day, to working all day on a construction site. I'm a project manager for a small voice/data cabling company, so I tend to be a jack of all trades type of position. Some days I will need to be squeaky clean, and other days it won't really matter. Sadly, my day is usually in such a constant state of flux that I won't really know what I'm doing until I get there. My office doesn't have showers, but there is a nice large bathroom where I could leave supplies for a "sink bath" of sorts. I have keys as well, so I could bring a load of clothes in on one of my weekend rides, and have a spare set here. Is this a viable way for cleaning up once here? I've read some about baby wipes as cleaning devices. Does that really work? Any help here would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance for any help! Am I missing anything? Anything else I should be considering? Do I need to just "buck up" and get going? Am I making a mountain out of what should be a mole hill? Am I completely overlooking something that is crucial to getting to work/home safely?!?!