Today, after many months of thinking about it, I've finally made my first commute to work via bike. The route I used is different from the one I use when driving and all I can say is wow. I cannot believe all the automobiles that were on the road stuck in traffic. My original plan was to commute via bike twice a week but I may increase that to 5 times a week.

YES! Another convert. Welcome to the club.

Kudos...welcome aboard!

Hehe, good for you. Welcome to the club! It'll get even easier and more fun after a few weeks of doing it regularly.

Congrats and enjoy!

Right on! 5 times a week gets easier and easier, eventually it comes naturally.

A funny aside. Last night my wife asked me to run and get some fast food for dinner. I instinctively headed to the garage (where the bike is) before I realized that I had to take the car (parked out front on the street). Gave us both a good laugh. Too bad bikes don't have drink holders, or I'd have used it!

Welcome to the HHCMF Club (Happy, Healthy Commuting Mutha F'ers). We take pride in showing off our well muscled legs and tight butts to friends and co-workers, using the money we save on gas and transit to buy cool stuff for our bikes like raccoon tails and grips w/ tassles, and only slightly embellishing our exciting tales of heroism and derring-do as we ride our trusty steeds to and from work surrounded by maniacal impotent death squads in SUVs.

Welcome to the club: Flat bellies, bridge-cable thighs, and thicker wallets are just a few of the membership benefits.

BTW: I've found that commuting 5x a week is actually a lot easier than 2x or 3x a week. After a while, it just becomes the way you get to work.

To quote Mr Burns, "Eggsellent..." (tenting fingers, and smirking).

Seriously, that's great.

Now that's what I call sig material.

sho nuff. i'm averaging about 4 days a week lately, and i find that the days i take the car make me drag and whine a lot more than the days i just bike even when i'm driving because i'm just too weary to bike. the logistics of biking are simpler, once you sort them all out. no hunting for keys, no warming the engine, no squeegeeing the outside surface, no seat belts, no scrabbling around for parking-lot change, no feeding of change to the parking machine, no trek back to the car to re-open the door and place face upwards on dash, no endless opening and closing of doors or insertion and extraction of self into/out of the mechanism, no deploying of cargo in any space more complicated than a single bag . . . by comparison, biking just rocks.

and best of all, you can REACH those buttons at intersections that change the traffic lights in your favour. what's not to like?

It does change your view of the world doesn't it
You never really see the mania from inside the auto.

Welcome, and may you have many, many days of
happy cycle commuting in your future.

Excellent indeed! Going to 5 days a week is the path of righteousness.

Hey jyossarian - you wern't kidding when you said it was sig material!! Thanks using it in you sig and for giving me credit!

Welcome to our world

seriously. i just made the jump from my normal bike commute 5 miles one way... to 12.5 one way three times a week for work. (the other two days is still the same, 5 to school).

it has been a transition, but not too bad. the ride home... i do get fatigued, what do you guys do for longer commutes home, any tips?

No problem. You said all that gibberish I wrote pretty succinctly!

tips pertaining to???
cleaning up?
keeping hydrated??
keeping fueled??
beating off the hot women wanting to grab your butt??

Tom: You've been a member here for a while. What made you start commuting now — in the middle of the Arctic Freeze That's Gripping the Nation (more after Sports with Mr. Z.)?

He hates to sweat..

It's great isn't it? I just wish I didn't have to breathe their exhaust...

How far is your commute in miles? Mine is 10 miles one way and it's pretty hilly. I try to do it at least twice a week.

The original post was in October '05. Not sure how/why this got bumped.

ahhhh, the Necromancer strikes again
he has been quite active as of late

That's my fault. I was directed to this thread and did not notice the dates. Sorry

+ 1 My only disappointing days of the week are the ones when I HAVE to take the car...commuting 5 days a week IS the path of righteousnes, peace and harmony...