First of all, thanks for the advice from all here. I bought an '03 Trek 520 to replace a beater MTB and have been commuting with it for a month now. Yesterday I had too many things to do all over town and had to drive. I was upset about it, which I wouldn't have imagined was possible last year. I thought it was interesting how many things I have read here I can relate to now: Fell once because of the new SPD pedals. Had someone yell "SIDEWALK A-HOLE!!!" out the back window of an SUV. Rode after checking the weather report and seeing it favored rain. Started using a helmet mounted mirror. Found a quieter (and longer) route. Started packing my bike before going to sleep at night. I could go on for a long while with this I suppose. I'll leave it at thanks again.


Hemlock

i have the same bike as u, great bike,

i have the same bike as u, great bike, 4 muting

Congratulations. Good habits lead to good habits. You're making the world a better place for yourself and everyone else too.

It realy is nice to be out of the loop. I drive every few weeks, and haven't filled the gas tank in 3 months. I didn't noticed how expensive gas has gotten, until I read an article about it in the newspaper. Zowie!

I bicycle because I feel like a wasteful, lazy, slob when I use the car unnecessarily, But also because I very much enjoy it. I've found a route to work that has little traffic and few teenagers in SUVs. If I wasn't always in such a rush, I'd actually arrive quite relaxed.

I hope your commuting gets better and better. I can only imagine that it will.

BTW I have a Trek 520 '93. Maybe we should start a club.

Nice to see you back Ice.
Congrats on the muting. You'll even start looking at those "all over town" errands, and breaking them down as to importance, and "I can take care of that errand when I go here..." It's helped me with a lot of that running around, I don't hit the Malls as much any more, but the LBS knows my name.
Just keep pedaling, and you'll get there.
I may have to check the 520 out. I'm just tired of the bikes I have and am looking for something new to play with. I have a bunch of stuff I need to work on, like my winter rides, all need to be cleaned and greased, new head sets, stuff like that. I've been procrasting on doing, cause I've been out riding.

Speaking of running errands, I did my first drive-through bank transaction on my commuter yesterday. The bank-teller looked at me kind of odd when I got off my bike, unzipped my trunk bag and pulled out my checks and deposit slip, but she handled it very professionally.

I very nearly didn't ride yesterday, simply because I needed to go to the bank. It was only a short way off my normal route, and I felt pretty cool afterward.

Whenever I'm told to get on the side walk, I point out that i am not walking. I also ride a 520.

This should have been titled "The Trek 520 Tread"