Hi, all:

I've found this forum (and this thread in particular) very helpful. I just bought a new commuter bike about a month ago and have done the run from my apartment to the vicinity of my office a few times. Yesterday was the first time I did the actual commute, though -- other times I've ridden in have always been on the weekends. I'm not in nearly the kind of shape I have been in the past, and the whole idea of commuting via bike is to get more exercise AND save gas. It is frustrating, though, that I'm not able to carry as much stuff or to bike in when the weather is wet, as it frequently is in Boston.

Based on what other folks bring on their commutes, I'm still pretty unprepared. I should really pick up a flat-fixing kit and re-learn how to use it. I also need to bring my bike back to the shop where I bought it and see why my derailleur chain keeps popping off the track.

But the real reason I'm posting is to ask for people's strategies when it comes to taking left turns on busy streets, such as Massachusetts Avenue. Yesterday, I had a great ride home until I got overconfident at the very last leg of my journey. My backpack was overloaded with a very heavy laptop, and I was in the left lane of a very busy four-lane road, attempting to make a left turn. I had to brake more suddenly than usual and the extra weight caused me to lose my balance. I fell off my bike right in the middle of the road and felt like a complete and total idiot. I guess the best thing for me to do is just dismount and cross in a crosswalk; how frustrating! That extra endorphine kick at the end of a long ride can make me feel indestructible, and I can forget that I am not a two-ton car. It's a fine line between "owning the lane" and being a complete idiot sometimes.