mconlonx

Wednesday evening, I did my first commute from where I work to where I live. This was new for me. I commuted by bike for about 2 years while living in the Boston area, Medford to Fort Point, about 7 mi (one way). This new living and work situation meant a commute of 18 mi (one way), a bit intimidating. I blew off the bike commute all winter, but started riding rollers on a very irregular basis through the Winter just to stay in shape. And during that time, I flipped a bike and decided to turn it into an ultimate commuter bike. All building up to attempting this longer commute--I had the right bike (w/lights, fenders, rack), shorts, route plan, and everything else except the motivation to actually do it. There was always a reason not to. Somewhere in there, I forgot how nice a commute could be.

In the meantime, I bought this beater 198? Shogun 12sp to lock up at work for around town errands. It's actually kind of nice, with Tange DB cro-mo tubing and Shimano 105/Golden Arrow group.

My wife and I work at the same company, so we commute in together. We are a one car family. That also cuts into my urge to commute by bike--time spent commuting with a loved one is very different than time spent in a car alone.

But on Wednesday, wife needed to leave work early and there was no way I could with everything on my plate.

So I offered to ride home.

Boy it felt great. Motivation enough to do it much more. Things get a bit complicated because there are days we need to pick my son up at his mom's, but I should be able to work up to at least three days a week.

Point being, my uber commuter was still at home with my bike shorts, fenders, lights, decent saddle, all that stuff that I assembled in anticipation for this feared commute, and I end up biking home on a $65 beater in work clothes. Got a flat two miles from the end, but that was a decent walk and a great way to wind down from the ride. Next time, I'll bring my toolkit, too.

n9viw

Cool read, thanks for sharing! It's amazing how we work ourselves into thinking that we need this that and the other to commute (both for the bike and for our bodies), when people all over are doing it with almost nothing. Now, there's something to be said for preparedness (water, tools, flat kit, etc), but as you've proven, it doesn't even take that to have a good ride! Cool.