desmo13

out of riding..
I want to commute, I really do. What holding me back? Well, not my job, I am a teacher, good hours for commuting. I do not have to fight the hot afternoon commute. Physical condition? No way, I am riding now 120+ miles a week on my road bike. Equipment? Nope. I bought a Kona Dew and even a rear rack. Just need some bar ends for more hand positions, and some less tread tires and away we go.
So what is it?

My commute. My route. 11 miles one way. 11 miles of the worse, moring traffic. No, not bumper to bumper freeway. It is the side streets. semi-urban sprawl, meaning bad intersections where people go to make a left turn, even though the traffic isnt moving, blocking the intersection. Oh, those intersections are filled with cars leaving the freeway because it is stopped. Where does the intersection go? It leads to a multiple of 2 and 4 lane feeder roads that cause cars to go from 60mph to 10, then back up to 60mph. Thed best part, industgrial park/factories. I could build space shuttle from all the stuff on the shoulder. Wires, glass (broken) boxes, metal, matresses. Did I mention the landfill transfer center is on this road? The people; bedroom community yuppies in thier lexus passing through the ghetto to get to work combined with the local flavor of vehicles not safe for the road, or trucks too big for them.

That was my impression of what my commute would be like. I drive it every day. 4 or 5 possible routes, all the same. I see 2 instances of road rage and 1 accident daily.
So for fun, I tried it. To work, but no work. I did it in the summer. I was so scrambled by the time I got to my school, I didnt want to ride back. I would feel sorry for my students if they had to be around me after that trip. It sucked the desire to ride out of me. I could not imagine, riding home, then going out on my road bike.

So, do i suffer from 1st time nerves? or "get some skin you wuss." I need to ride my road bike. I am semi-training, full-time trying to lose more weight. And I have such fun. I am afraid of taking the fun out of riding?

any commuting shrinks online?

fat biker

I don't know if you are a wuss or not. What you describe does not sound like much of a fun commute.

I commuted through the winter, most days. The miles, cold, wind and rain just about wore me down. I commuted by bike because it was the quickest way to work and the only solution that got me door-to-door.

I would counsel, if you do not enjoy it, then don't ride the bike.

Jeff

Lamplight

That sounds like the worst parts of my town, which I NEVER ride in. I don't blame you at all for not commuting by bike. It would be one thing if you only had to go 2 or 3 miles, but 11? Probably not worth it, IMO. Is there a chance you could move closer to work eventually?

desmo13

Nooo, not closer. I am on the edge of "da hood" as it is now. Example, there are a couple of bike paths that follow the canals near my school. Of course, the Officer at our school (yes, our middle school gets its very own police officer, not some private security guy either, real cop) told me when I inquired about them, "You have a death wish?"

Lamplight

Ok, in your case instead of moving closer to work maybe you need to try working closer to home.

desmo13

I know, where I live, 4 schools in easy commuting distance, nice roads, bike friendly community, big bike lanes. safe.

But my Principal rocks. As long as he is there, I am there.

godspiral

bike paths unsafe at 8am??? 4pm maybe? Is America paranoid, or is there really a >0.001% chance of a violent encounter by just passing by urban youths?

Anyways, an other alternative would be a longer route. Especially for the afternoon return.

mcavana

move.

SingingSabre 

Are there any other routes you can take?

Perhaps talk to a commuter-friendly LBS about paths to take. Your students, depending on their ages, may also have something to contribute.

Guest

I'm sure if the paths were safe, he'd take them... provided that they were in good working condition.

I live in Virginia, but I work in Maryland, so I ride through Virginia, DC and into Maryland. Ride the bike path? I've seen at least two people lying face down on the bike path, and in both instances, rode until I got to a safe area and called the police. For a while, there was a big prblem with gangs hanging out on the bike paths. The police had to park on the paths with their lights out, and several times, I rode past them doing a sting on gang activity. Many times, I've ridden past parts of the bike path where men hang out with beer bottles and other alcoholic beverages. I've had some lunge at me. I'm sure other cyclists experienced the same thing. Then the police released a report earlier this year warning cyclists that gangs with machetes were roaming on the paths, so be careful.

Of course, that's just in Virginia. I haven't even given you the half of the paths in DC (though on Friday morning, I heard gunshots behind the house I was passing at the graveyards, and the police wouldn't investigate by the time I called). And I haven't gone into the part about the disrepair of the bike trail along the parkway with the glass, debris, car parts, etc, and how the path just suddenly ends, and you're forced to get on the highway...

*sigh*

But the result is, I just try to avoid the paths as much as possible and just deal with the streets and fight the traffic. At least I'll be out in the open and in public as much as possible. It's mostly safer (as some may say).

The point is, why poke fun of something if you don't get it? Yeah, we have some places with bad paths. We aren't paranoid, so why insinuate it?

Koffee

UmneyDurak

Dammn koffee you rock. Not sure if I would have commuted under these cirumstances.

halfbiked

You want to DRIVE in that traffic?? I changed jobs a couple months ago and enjoy the ride much, much more to the new place. My old job was an easy drive & easier ride, 6 miles. If I drove it was against traffic at highway speeds. If I rode it was on bike paths, with traffic lights at the 2 major roads I had to cross. However, because the drive was so painless, getting motivation to ride was difficult. My new commute is in the opposite direction 10 miles. Stop and go traffic, no good alternative routes - they all have lots of lights and/or stopsigns. But the bike ride - ah the bike ride. Bridges over the highways, quiet residential streets on the shortest route. On the longer route I can take a bike path along a creek - a long urban park. Very pleasant, though it adds hills that aren't on the flat route.

Point being: I'm riding the 10 mile commute more often than I rode the six mile commute because the 10 mile drive is so much worse. Sounds like your drive stinks too. It took me a few days of trial and error, plus some time staring at google maps to find the best bike-friendly / car-unfriendly route. Get all the good car routes out of your head and try to find the streets with the most stop-signs / least-car friendly attributes.

Good Luck

bike2math

I definitely wouldn't give up on a commute until I tried quite a few times. Don't do it every day until you are happy with it, but just keep trying it and making little variations on the time of day and the route. For example I find that if I can be out the door by 7 I can avoid the people leaving at 8:15 and trying to get to work by 9, that little change in time, even though it gets me to work an hour early, makes a huge difference in the quality of my commute. Also I would try the bike path early on a monday morning just to see how bad it is. My bike path has lots of small shanty towns along it, but overall I've become pretty comftorable with it, the homeless guys recognize me and say hello. Also there is alot of bike traffic on mine, but every none biker I talk to is scared of the shanty towns, so I don't know, you just can't always trust peoples perceptions of the danger in their enviroment; often they are just scared of the things which are different.

ncscott

Just my impressions.
If you normally ride a road bike then why did you get a mountain bike? Get some narrower tires. If you don't inflate a 25 mm tires completely they are much more comfortable.
The trip stinks the first few times anyway. If you did it in the summer then summer heat makes it worse. I'm assuming you have showers at school, in which case you are lucky, bathroom stalls are not changing rooms. Make sure to take a nice refreshing shower. Since you have the future of americans youth in your hands (which I highly respect you for that) then you probably want to do the commute enough times to get comfortable or decide not to do it before the kids arrive.
Above all, comuting is for enjoyment. If you don't enjoy it, then don't do it.
OR I could be completely wrong...
Scott

maximusvt

If it's gonna work it sounds like you're definitely gonna need a new route... Look around next time you drive in, take some extra time and see if there are any better back streets or routes you see other bikes on. And yeah, I wouldn't give up just yet, but I certainly won't call you a wuss if you do.

tulip

The beauty of bike commuting is that you find routes and streets in your town that you never knew about before. It's such a great way to get to know the city, even if you've lived there your whole life.

cooker

Don't they have bike cops patroling those paths? (A rhetorical question).

I think it is partly a first time nerves issue. Commuting becomes routine after a while and you adapt to conditions. A book like The Art of Urban Cycling might help you deal with some of those hazards. Having said that, it does sound pretty bad. But the routes you have tried in your car may not be the only choices for biking. Sometimes there are shortcuts and out of the way streets that bikes can use that cars can't - for example in suburban enclaves that don't have through traffic, there may be a pedestrian walkthrough to the next loop, so I would say take another look at the map.

Where I ride there is a shortcut through a cemetary I could use, or I can take short stretches of bike paths without getting too far out of sight of civilization.

O-Town

I found that Google Earth is a great tool to help find new routes.

CastIron

Desmo, your commute sounds like a double helping of mine. I'm quite sympathetic. When the weather is nice and my weekend liesure miles go way up, I scale things back on commuting by using other two-wheel options of the morotorized variety. I commit--in the summer--to twice a week. I also commit to pounding out my commute one block at a time. That's it. Just get through THIS block. It has worked wonders for my ability to ride fast and in traffic. It all pays dividends on weekends and on the bathroom scale. Scenic, it ain't. If you can't change it, learn to conquer it. You gain nothing from backing away.

jimmuter

We have people who get jacked on paths here in broad daylight from time to time. I had a nasty encounter with some 'urban youth' on our local trail yesterday at 3 pm. Luckily I could pedal faster than them.

timmhaan

i've effectively been muscled out of commuting as well. i work in newark, NJ and the very heavy truck traffic and fast agressive driving just isn't something that i want to deal with. my quality of life is much better riding outside of work and having fun doing it on my own time. at least i can take the train to work (better than driving).

abergdc

Wow, what paths are those in DC/MD/VA? I ride the Crescent trail everyday and don't see any of that.

SpokesInMyPoop

*seconds suggestion*

genec

I have commuted on and off for some 30+ years... and believe me the dirty little secret is that commuting may or may not be all that it's cracked up to be.

My routes have changed over the years depending on where I worked and lived. At times the route to work was through tree lined neighborhoods with rolling hills. Other times my route was through the middle of the city. Currently my route is on 45MPH arterials with a short bit on the interstate.

While commuting has always kept me at a better than average (looking at most folks my age) cardio vascular health level, it has not always been the best work out for cycling.

Couple reasons... first it is easy to sit back and cruise... one becomes quite used to the ride and is able to predict light timing and traffic... and your body gets used to the load. Second, auto traffic and the need to be wary of such tends to take the edge off of one's ability to sprint or interval train. A cyclist is easily temped to "just make a green," or blast past slowed auto traffic... but such moves also are counter to good defensive cycling. There is a reason messengers retire young.

Now on the flip side, this was all due to city commuting... if on the other hand one's commute happens to be on a beautiful route, with little motor traffic, perhaps that commute can be a great as my weekend rides in the country. In that case... all power to you. Of course you will still be facing the potential boredom of doing the same ride every day. Then again, if your ride happens to be one filled with other riders, that too can brighten your day.

Bottom line is that where you commute can have a lot to do with your whole attitude to the commute. Ride through a dirty industrial area, and you may find your heart sinking at the thought of the ride... ride along a beautiful vista, and you may have a hard time actually going to work.

One thing you mentioned was that there may be 4-5 different routes... something to consider is using a different route from time to time.

When I had the chance to do this on some other commutes, the different route idea was enough to keep the ride "fresh." I also add miles when the weather is really nice... again in an effort to remove the "sameness" factor.

Good luck and keep your safety in mind when chosing your routes, you will be doing it everyday, no point in adding risk if you can avoid it.

genec

Damn Koffee... those are some tough conditions. Guess I should just stop whining about the "less than perfect" conditions down here in San Diego... I have nothing to complain about compared to your ride.

Do you ride in a Kevlar Jersey or what?