Beginning commuter observations
 

Just started commuting to work. Its been great so far. Luckily, my office is now about 1 mile from home. The last three days I've commuted I haven't used my car at all on those days. The weather's been great here in Miami, but I wonder what its going to be like in July and August going to work wearing a suit and tie.

And by the way, cagers have no more respect for me when I'm wearing a suit and tie than they do when I'm wearing a t-shirt and torn shorts. No respect either way.

Don't wear a suit and tie on your bike. Leave a few changes of decent work clothes at work, and wear reasonable cycling clothes while on your bike.

- Warren

As someone who just started commuting back in December (been a mild winter here in NYC) I was wondering how the work attire would work out come summer... I've got a 5 mile commute, which includes a climb up the 59th Street bridge. I might just keep the blazers at work and hope for the best. :)

As for those nasty cagers, doesn't matter what I wear either, it seems half the drivers out there think all cyclists are menaces.

That's what many of us do, just keep some of your attire at work. My commute is also about 5 miles. I keep a selection of shirts at work, and either wear the work slacks if it's not too hot, or wear shorts and bring slacks if it is. If you have a shower, use it, else - baby wipes!! :)

I think baby wipes are in the future... that'll be interesting. :)

I'm lucky that a good chunk of my commute is on some relatively car free roads, but I still encounter a few too many drivers out there who aren't too interested in sharing the road. I try to be a nice cyclist, really I do. But sometimes I wonder why I don't bring out that pack of caltrops a friend gave me a few years back...

Welcome to the Happy Healthy Commuting Muther F*ckers club! Any good commuter keeps a camp towel (those microcloth, super thin towels you can get at any outdoor store), some baby wipes and deodorant at their office if they don't have a shower at work. Carry or leave clothes at work and you're all set.

I found that bringing a week's worth of clothes works for me. It allows me to wear my bright bike clothes so I can be seen by cars. I feel that it allows me to enjoy the riding more.

In summer, take your jacket off, roll it (do not fold) and stash it on your rack or in your panniers. Wear short sleeve shirts. If you are in a casual enough environment to wear a sports jacket, just leave one at work and rotate every so often.

Paul

Keep a dozen shirts at the office, along with shoes, belt, and 3 pair of pants. Works for me. :D

Rebel against the man and wear whatever you would like. :p
Seriously, I keep one days worth of clothes in my desk. Since I do not sweat at work I use pants for 3 days and bring in a shirt and underwear each day. My work shoes stay at my desk.

July and August? Heh, the heat continues right on into October. Did I forget to mention the humdity? Yes, I did! I commute from Homestead to Cutler Ridge. My employer has a business casual dress code. I can't see anyone wearing a tie for more than the commute on foot to the parking lot and the airconditioned car when it really warms up down here.

Cycling specific clothing(i.e. those overpriced spandex) is a bit too excessive for a mile of commute.

No one said anything about 'cycling specific' clothing. I just said reasonable cycling clothes. Certainly, some shorts and a T-shirt would be just fine. A three-piece suit might be unbearable in August even for a single mile.

- Warren

In really hot weather, a wicking T shirt will do the job. If lack shower facilities, dont mess around with baby wipes; take a waterbottle and pour it over your head and shirt about 10 mins before the end of your ride. You will arrive cool and clean.

To change the thread off of clothing a bit, I'll add some other things I've noticed since I've started commuting.

Since I'm still pretty new to the whole cycling thing as well and I wasn't getting any real exercise prior to commuting, I definitely feel a lot better in the morning after my ride in. (thank you Captain Obvious!) I used to just walk a mile from the subway to work to get something in.

Also, the people at work were pretty surprised that I was riding in when it was cold out. It was a mild winter, but you know how people are.

I have noticed how easy it would be to make cycling a little better in NYC, some simple things would really help out. Just a series of simple things, most of which groups here in NYC are already campaigning for. It's just unfortunate the city does so little, and so slowly. I'm a big fan of mass transit as well, we have good infrastructure here but things like bus lanes and bike lanes are so often ignored by the cars and trucks.

On the bike front, well, I was using my brother's old mountain bike in the beginning. I put on a rack, el-cheapo fenders and 1.5" slicks. A pretty nice ride, but it felt too small for me (probably was). It did the job, but I wanted to try something else. I picked up a Gary Fisher Tiburon S, 700cx32 slicks on it now, fenders and a rack. I'm a bit mixed about it, I like the ride better though and it's my current commuter. I'm not too keen on the front suspension, I think I'd rather do away with it but I'll leave that for later. Back in college I used an old Peugot 10 speed, nice old road bike I picked up for $2 in NH. I had it ridable, but still needed work. I may try to resurrect it one day, but I already have 2 bikes taking up space. Mountain vs. hybrid, I like them both. I think I like the idea of a more touring oriented bike, I'd like to start doing some touring this spring/summer. We'll see how the Tiburon holds up on my first tour (self-supported with some pals, easy pace, should be good fun.)

I've driven in NYC enough to realize traffic can really suck. Riding my bike around, well, traffic can really suck. There are a few places on my commute where I'm stuck on a 2 way road, buses and cars parked on the right, 2 lanes of cars jammed beside me going my way, and no path to squeeze through them. I take the lane when I need to, that's not the issue. It just reminds me how silly it is to drive around the city.

On a final note (for the time being) I've noticed how easy it is to commute in from where I live, I can't believe I didn't start doing this years ago. I can see the obvious barriers to entry here in NYC, most people think it's totally unsafe. Bike theft is pretty high, cagers (I like that term... first time I saw it was here on the forums) can suck, and it's not always a bike friendly town. But it would only take a few more incentives to get more people to ride in. I'm just a convert though, and I work at a place with good bike racks in a good location so it's easier for me.

Nice post Sukram. I've seriously eyeballing a Trek 520 at my LBS. It's nicely equipped for $1200. All I really know about this frame is that has been in production for many years and has touring written all over it.

http://wheelandsprocket.com/site/ima...k_520_06_m.jpg

Collered tennis shirt and shorts would work.


... and an umbrella

I was checking out the various touring bikes, and maybe next year I'll be able to convince wifey to let me get one.

"Listen dahl, I know you think we could use the money to go on vacation, but that bike comes with a rear rack AND it's really shiny!"