New Commuter
 

Greetings,

Here's my version of the MasterCard commercial:

K2 Mach 2.0 bicycle......$950.00
CyGo Lights..................$125.00
"Blinky" tail light............$Free
Insurance Savings.........($240.00 per year)
Riding 7.18 miles to work....Priceless!

Today I started commuting to work. Here's some lessons I've learned from my first day....

1 - You can not get up, eat and be on the bike in 15 minutes. (took me 30)

2 - "Stuff" you normally carry around is heavy (knife, palm pilot, cell phone, etc)

3 - Riding with a backback on your back let you know how if feels to be a heavier rider (I'm heavy at 268, but I now know how my brothers at 300+ feel now). I'll be bringing clothes over the weekend so I don't have to carry them on my back.

4 - Thank God for 3 chain rings (see #3)

5 - You should NOT deviate from the route you had planned. My previously mapped out route was 6.3 miles and getting lost this morning turned it into 7.18

6 - The route you map out during day light hours looks completely different in the dark.

7 - Commuting is not a leasurely ride to work (at least today it wasn't). My avg HR was 158 (185 max)

8 - You can not drink from the battery bottle. I had it mounted in the down tube cage instead of the seat post cage. I'll be swapping those out tonight.

8 - I'm gald my wife talked me into getting the 25 watt light instead of the 15 watt light I was considering.

9 - Having showers and a place to park the bike inside are definately pluses.

10 - I will have everything laid out and ready to go tomorrow morning. I can't wait!

Zack

Hi Zack, congratulations on the first commute, feels great, doesn't it :beer:
You know I still don't understand how this can be. Even when I pack my bag the evening before and have everything arranged I take just as long as those days when I shower and take the car.
Last year I used a hydration pack to carry my change of clothes. This year I switched to a rear rack and bottle+cage for the water. The difference is remarkable and I wouldn't switch back. If taking clothes in over the weekend is a pain then consider getting a rack.
:) Getting lost, I mean finding new routes, is best kept for the return journey.
I really wish that worked for me :rolleyes:

Congratulations Zack! :beer:

#1. Seems like it always took me 45 minutes to get ready. I had to shower at home. No showers at work. :crash:
#2. I only had to carry work clothes, lunch, rain gear, and clothes for the ride home (summer months) in my panniers and that was heavy enough.
#10. I think everyone learns this after the first day. :D


Now if I could just find another job I could start commuting again. :cry:

You sure learned a lot in one day. One more thing to consider/learn: Get up in time to “let nature take it’s course”. It can be hard to find a clean restroom on the way to work.

My apologies, I meant to add congratulations and keep it up. Being able to ride is the only reason I go to the office on some days.

Great!

I suggest you get a rear rack ($15-20) and a pair of bungee straps ($3) to attach your backpack on your rack.Then, when you are really converted to bike commuting, get a set of mid-size panniers to carry your stuff.

Your back will enjoy it...

Regards,

sorry.. lil off topic...

but do those panniers go on each side of the rear rack right??

can you fit binders in them?... how do you go about carrying panniers around?.... are they like backpacks or do you carry them like briefcases?..

sorry.. and thanks! :D

Yea my ride to school is anything BUT leasurely cos I always leave late :rolleyes: . My record for my 6.12km trip on the mountain bike with knobbly tyres is 9 minutes 37 seconds. Quite a feat if you saw the traffic and roads I have to deal with :(

Just my 2 cents.

You can get "office/briefcase" style panniers for documents etc. Carradice make a nice one. You can even mix a briefcase style one with a standard cargo pannier.
Good pannier bags have a hand-grip and attatchment points for a shoulder strap, and these days, panniers should be mounted using a quick-release clip-on system rather than hooks and bits of elastic.

All: Thanks for the replies. Today was better than yesterday. I was up and out of the house in about 20 minutes instead of 30. I didn't get lost :) and my HR was a bit lower.

The only downside was the rear blinky light turned itself off for some reason :(. The LBS gave me one that I used on Monday and it worked fine. Yesterday a new 5-light model arrived and I put it on last night. I'm going to check and make sure the lense is closed completely. I'm guessing a battery came loose or something to cause it to go off.

Finally, a question about racks. Does anyone make a rack for a bike that does not have eyelets on the frame? My K2 doesn't have them. I may hold off on the rack until I get the Fuji Ace frame I bought recently built. It has eyelets on it so mounting a rack will be easy.

Zack

I just bought a TOPEAK QR Beam. Here is the address. There is a bag that will attach to it, but I didn't get one (yet). It was really easy to attach and seems pretty sturdy so far.
Here is the address: //www.topeak.com/

Click on Racks and QR Beam.

OhiOH: That TOPEAK QR Beam looks perfect for my needs now. Thanks for the info and link.

Zack

Those QR beam racks are pretty cool. Due to some, ahem, maintenance issues with my normal commuter I had to ride my full suspension MTB in today. I'd prepared for such an eventuality by getting a Delta Post Haste beam rack. I got a great deal on mine from REI for just $25 :D Might be worth checking that out if you can wait a few days for delivery.

My commuter is my old road bike. No eyelets. I have a Delta seat post rack that bolts to the seat post. Not a QR type. They may have a QR style.
I think Topeak makes a bolt on style in addition to the QR.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/Raleigh2.jpg

http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/Raleigh1.jpg

RonH,

What kind of panniers are those, or do you know approximatly what size (cu. in.)? That is the setup that I'm looking to go to, but really don't know what size panniers I need. Yours look about right for work clothes, etc.

Thanks!

Kevin

RonH: Thanks for the photos. I do like the setup you have. One question though, what's the purpose of the clear light above the two red taillights?

Zack