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Old 06-21-12 | 10:35 AM
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FenderTL5
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 794
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From: Nashville TN

Bikes: Trek 7.3FX, Diamondback Edgewood hybrid, KHS Montana

Commuting to work, 1 month as of today.

Yes indeed, as of today I've been commuting on my bicycle every work day for one month.
It is a mixed mode commute, 14.5 total miles. I'm getting about a 9.5 middle lift from the local MTA, so it's approx. 10 miles on the bike roundtrip.
My goal is to be riding into work, the full 14.5 most if not every day, by the end of the summer (if not sooner).

I've learned quite a few lessons in this short amount of time. One of which is; I actually prefer the downtown, narrow, urban streets to the roads in the suburbs. Some suburban streets can leave little to no margin for error, with no bike lane, no shoulder, narrow lanes and 40mph+ speed limits.
My practice is to follw the guidelines as published here: Bicycle Safety document on the Metro Nashville website
I've had only a couple of horn blowing instances, but nothing major.

Two weeks ago, my car was driven a total of 33 miles for the week. That included taking my wife to a doctor appointment that was 16 miles of that total. Last week, the car was only driven 27 miles. Personally, outside of the doctor trip, I've driven less than two miles in two weeks time.
I'm enjoying the daily ride, especially in the mornings. I feel better physically. In fact, I was taking over the counter medication for the arthritis in my knees. The pain has stopped altogether, i don't need the medication.

So far, I consider the decision to purchase a bike and start commuting to be a success.
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