Today was my first ever commute by bike. It was a beautiful morning for a ride, and even though practically all 8.5 miles are uphill, it went well. Lucky for me, that means the ride home is all downhill!

I'm a big guy, trying to lose a few pounds, so I needed a couple little breaks to catch my breath. But overall I felt really good. Now I'm at work with a nice clear head and a great start on the day.

I'm riding a Specialized Sirrus to which I have added new pedals, rack, trunk bag, fenders, bar ends, headlight and blinker. The tires are 700x28, and are just right for commuting: thin enough to be fast and wide enough to be stable. The bar ends helped to give me more hand positions, and allowed me to get into more of a "down" position when I wanted to.

I'm not up for every-day riding just yet, but once a week will be fun.