I have been a member here ever since I bought my trusty Redline 925 a couple of years ago and came to this forum to read up on riding fixed gear. I lived in Somerville, MA at the time and commuted 6 miles round trip to work every day, even in gnarly snow, sleet, and ice. Never really posted much here, but always appreciated this thread, so thought now was the time to contribute because...

Last year I moved cross-country to Oakland CA, and wasn't riding my bike much because I started working from home and concentrating on running. The trails out here are too good to pass up and I'm not a huge mountain biker. The only places I commuted to on bike were the Post Office every now and then or down to Smitty's Bar on Grand to quench my always-parched palate.

Now, however, some twists of fate have brought me to work at the mighty Oracle corporation. As some in the area may know, a bike commute from Oakland to Oracle HQ in Redwood Shores is somewhat impractical. But I have found a way to make it work.

First leg: the AC Transit bus goes right by my apartment, so now in the morning my trusty 925 and I await on the corner. When the bus pulls up, I put the bike on the front rack and we are off across the Bay Bridge. When we get off, it's leg 2: a quick pedal over to Caltrain (little over a mile; a nice warmup), bike on board, ride on down south and leg 3: select from a myriad of stations from which to bike. So far I've detrained Hillsdale, Belmont, San Carlos, and Redwood City. I just get on whatever train happens to be leaving and disembark at the closest stop. i like this; it adds a certain degree of variety to the commute.

I do the same thing coming home--whatever train/bus happens to work out. I'm flexible.

The bottom line is that I HATE driving, so any alternative option is worth it and so far this works for me. driving take about an hour; this commute takes anywhere from 1:15 to 1:30. It's well worth the extra time. Because I am a geek, I did the math for this and the transit passes (AC Transit + Caltrain) cost me $177.00 a month. The estimated gas cost? $285.00.

The commute has been enjoyable and even better now that I have picked up my monthly passes for July and just yesterday threw on some clipless pedals. I am ready to ride!