beachball42

This morning I did my first commute to work with my bike. I recently bought a Trek Verve 2 and that is what I used. One way it is 7.44 miles and it took me right at 38 minutes. I'm not a fast rider and go at a pretty casual pace and averaged just above 11.5 mph the whole way. My route for the most part uses MUP's and maybe about 200 yards where I have to use the road while transitioning from one MUP to another and then at the end getting off the MUP to get to my office building.

I carried my clothes in my backpack (GoRuck GR1) and just changed at the office. Going slow was fine and wasn't really sweating when I got to the office so I guess I passed the smell test as nobody is keeping their distance from me. I have one hill at the 3.5 mile and made it pretty easily up it but certainly felt it in my legs. My route is mainly flat so that was a help as well. I passed two other commuters on one MUP and then in my office park saw two more. Was actually surprised I ran into that many but again, didn't really know what to expect.

We will see how the ride home goes. Supposed to be almost 80 and pretty windy so I'm expecting to be going a lot slower on the way home plus I anticipate a bit more traffic on the MUP's as I normally see more runners and walkers in the afternoons. My office recently changed our dress code to Dress for your Day so on days where I can dress down in jeans and a golf shirt I am planning to try riding. We do have an onsite gym with showers so in warmer weather I may need to use the facilities in the morning. My goal is to try and ride at least 1 day a week to start until I build up a little more leg endurance.

I will say, it was easier and more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I also just changed my grips from the stock to Ergon G5's and what a difference those made. Never once did my wrists or hands hurt like before. I may consider adding a rack and trunk bag if I keep this up and I need to get some reflector straps to put on my backpack but generally felt pretty good.

Buddha2499

Papa Tom

Everything Buddha said, plus get yourself some Wet Wipes to clean yourself off on days you don't have time to shower before work. Also, scented laundry strips can freshen up your clothing...speaking of which, are you keeping your work clothes at work?

wphamilton

"was easier and more enjoyable than I thought" - you may find that non-cyclists won't believe it, thinking it's a humble-brag, so I consider that our big secret. Helps with our mystique

You can go 10 minutes faster and spend the 10 minutes in the shower, or go easy and save time so it's all good. Going home is more fun though because you don't worry much about sweating.

beachball42

Will look into some wipes this weekend. No, I didn't keep clothes at work, I just put my jeans and shirt in my backpack and carried them. Backpack wasn't too heavy. Had my clothes and my laptop and I also had my bike lock in there. I didn't really have anything extra with me like when I drive. The weight wasn't really an issue for me but I can tell as it warms up I probably won't want that thing sitting on my back in the heat.

no motor?

Congrats! I love the feeling of getting somewhere under my own power, especially when I can ride at my own pace. Your average is pretty good too, it sounds like you don't have to stop for much traffic etc..

rumrunn6

well done!

noglider 

You did great for a first ride. I think a lot of people go more slowly than that. And as you said, it doesn't matter how fast you go, as long as you're not late for work. Yet going fast isn't bad at all.

Long ago, after moving to a neighborhood beyond a "big hill," I found climbing the hill difficult. I noticed that after a few weeks, I didn't even notice the hill. You'll be surprised how fast you build strength, and that added strength adds to the enjoyment of the ride.

May is Bike to Work Month, so you chose a great time to start. Some of us here ride year round. I do, but I don't ride when the surface is slippery. Lately, I'm riding four or five days a week.

ptempel

Well done on the commute! I also carry my work clothes, tools, spare tube and mini pump in a backpack. The first thing I would try to do (if I were you) is to eliminate the laptop. I use my own laptop at home and a desktop from the company at work. Do you have access to work via VPN? If not, then maybe you can carry around your files on an external 2.5" disk or USB stick?

Papa Tom

For me, commuting has been a continual learning experience. At first, I didn't think a rack and pannier was going to make much difference, but it made all the difference, and I would never ride with a backpack again. I had the same experience with bike shorts. I always thought suffering with chafed, bloody thighs was normal for cycling until I threw away my cutoff jeans and bought a pair of mountain biking shorts. Now I won't leave home without a pair of padded briefs under whatever I am wearing to work.

See where commuting goes for you. You may very well end up wanting to ride every day - at which point you will likely want to make the commute as comfortable and worry-free as possible by carrying tools, spare tires, music, and all sorts of extras. These things transport really well in a pannier, or even a basic trunk bag.

beachball42

Thanks everyone. Speed is not really a concern for me so not too worried about that. The laptop unfortunately I don't have a way around. Do to my role in our organization I am required to take my laptop with me, not really a way around that and I'm used to lugging it around with me. I really don't have a lot of traffic issues in part because of the City I live in. We are known for our Roundabouts. We have right around 115 of them in my City so even driving my car I rarely have to stop. Plus having MUP's to use helps as there is one bridge that takes me over one main road and one tunnel that takes me under the other one so it works pretty well. Also being in Indiana, the ground is pretty flat so that helps.

My only main issue going home tonight should be the one road closest to my house. There is one roundabout that has a higher volume of traffic flow but I have another one up the road a bit that has a little less. I use the pedestrian crosswalk to cross as I don't trust the drivers to see me or yield if I rode the roundabout.

In the afternoon more users of the MUPs will be out so I imagine my pace will be a bit slower. I actually have a few different routes I could take so its nice to have some options. For now I'm going to be a fair weather rider. That may change but that's the plan.

Skipjacks

Keep a towel at work. You don't need to wash it after every wipe down. And keeping it at work prevents you from having to carry it with you.

But it REALLY helps to be able to do a quick dry off when you get there. As the morning rides get hotter and hotter you'll see what I mean.

As for avoiding roundabouts, study google maps using the satellite imagery. Road maps say Road X doesn't connect to Road Y. But satellites can show you that road X is only 15 feet from road Y and separated by a hard packed dirt walkway that's easy to cross on a bike. Or that cutting behind a strip mall through it's delivery access road lets you avoid the main intersection. Stuff like that. The satellite imagery will show you lots of alternate routes you'd never think of. I've found shortcuts and such on satellite that I had passed 100 times on my bike and never thought of.

Now wait until it's pouring rain one day and you decide not to ride. Now that you have the bike commute bug you'll be pissed at the rain ALL DAY because it prevented you from riding! (Also don't let the the "you should ride every day even in the rain" crowd bother you)

Darth Lefty 

Tundra_Man 

Congrats on your first commute!

I always tell people that the hardest part about bicycle commuting is deciding to do it. Once you're our there actually riding you discover it's really not that big of a deal.

beachball42

Well the ride home was pretty good. A lot more traffic to deal with and more users on the MUP's but overall things went well. I did take one wrong turn on one of my cut throughs so I added an extra half mile so my ride home was a little over 8 miles but overall a good experience. I'm planning on riding again tomorrow but that will be it for this week as we are getting some storms later in the week.

Leg's and back are a little sore but not bad. There was one climb on the way home that was long but not as steep. Guess I didn't notice the decent as much this morning but sure noticed it on the way home. Overall I would call my first commute a success. My one roundabout near my house was pretty easy to get through. I forgot its at the end of a school zone so traffic slows up a bit which produces more gaps to get across.

Thanks everyone for the tips and encouragement.

BobbyG

This is so exciting and cool! You're sharing your first ride in, before your first ride home!

I carry my clothes to work, wearing my backpack on one of my bikes, racking it on the other two. I did start keeping shoes and a jacket and a winter coat (for lunchtime walks) at the office, and that made a big difference in the weight I carried to and from work.

Congrats and go, Go, GO!

wphamilton

Yeah, keep a backup set of work clothes at work if at all possible. Shirt, slacks, shoes if feasible. I learned that the hard way and I still have to use those every once in awhile. It's the one most useful tip I could give for someone starting bike commuting.

ptempel

+1

I also keep two pair of shoes for work in a desk drawer. I have a light rain jacket always at work in case I want to go out in the colder and/or rainy weather. Finally, I also keep a travel size tooth brush, toothpaste, and deoderant at my desk. I haven't done so yet, but it might be a good idea to keep a spare shirt and pant in a desk drawer in case of any "wardrobe malfunction" or you spill something on yourself. Once, I split the seam on a brown chino pant that I really liked a lot. I was in the datacenter and crouched down to look or access a server low in the rack. And then "RRRIIIPP!" I managed to still be able to wear the pant since the split didn't go far up. But it was close to being an embarrasing situation and showing all my underwear...

NewATBikeComute

I'm starting my third year of mixed mode, car/bike commuting; I am mostly a fair-weather rider.

Even so, your speed is faster than my average, that's cool!

I have no particular advice, except pay attention to what's comfortable and fun for you; if you enjoy it, you are more likely to continue with it.

caloso

Way to go! Re route finding: two things I've found helpful is Google Maps, set for cycling; and the Strava heatmap. These will help you find routes that may not be immediately obvious, especially if you usually drive. Then try them out for yourself, make adjustments, and find the route (or routes) that work best for you. Keep in mind that the best route to work in the morning may not be the best route home in the afternoon.

beachball42

Thanks, I actually did use Google Maps set for the cycling option and it gave me 3 options that I did look at. I was surprised that it actually picked up my MUP's in the routes. The route I take today will have to change in about a month as they are converting an intersection to a roundabout so it will be closed for 60 days while they convert it. The easiest and safest option adds about 1 mile each way. A lot of the MUP's I use actually run right next to the main roads so the cycle routes aren't much different than my driving routes. Just lucky in the way my city has developed them. Its a nice network and the surrounding towns are expanding on them and connecting in so it really has opened up the options to bike riding for those of us who aren't wanting to mix it up with cars. I also ordered a Topeak rack and trunk bag that is being delivered today so I'll get that installed this weekend.

caloso

Awesome. That sounds like a great commute.

cambiker71

When I first started commuting over a similar distance I alternated days by riding home leaving the car at work then rode back to work in the morning, then drove home and back and so on until i felt confident enough to ride all the time.
I found it gave me a bit of recovery time, it didn't take very long to be riding most days without problems though!
hope this helps, keep it up now

PanYAgua

well done!

PanYAgua

It only gets easier