Last week I started commuting to work. This is how it happened.

Monday: 7:00am. "Its too cold. I shouldn't ride..." 8:00 (riding my car. stuck in traffic). "Ok. maybe i should have ridden"

Tuesday: Stopped making excuses and finally rode to work. I had to drive partway there and then ride my bike since I dont think I could have made it all the way to work.

Wednesday: My legs were hurting from the day before. I tried going a little further. I also rode with bicycle shorts. What a difference!!

Thursday: Went a little further this time. Went about 14 miles out from work. I was so tired. And I was sweating like crazy. I was also freezing my butt off. My eyes were tearing from the cold. So that night I bought some ski goggles.

Friday: I bought some cold weather gear like a skull cap for under my helmet. I also wore some goggles which solved the eyes issue. I also left a little early so that I wouldnt have to ride as fast. What a difference. I came in about 15-20 minuted later than yesterday, but the relaxed pace was so much more fun. I was also able to look at the scenery.

Commuting is hard!!! But even though I am out of breath and my legs feel like liquid, I am going to keep doing this! It is so much fun. I feel more alive than ever!!!

Hello fellow commuters!!!!!!

Welcome to the fold.

I've been commuting for 2 weeks. What is your route and how long does it take?
I was wondering if I can bike tomorrow and Friday morning. It is ~20F.

You have chosen the Red Pill. Welcome.

It's beautiful to read your story and I couldn't agree more. Welcome.

Wow, what a time to start commuting! Great report.

my route is on the mount vernon trail and some side streets after i reach mount vernon. its about 14 miles right now. i ride my car halfway there. i park at belle haven park. if i were to ride my bike from home, it would be 22 miles. hopefully i can ride all the way from home. it takes me about an hour and a half for the 14 miles. thats when i take it a little slower. i can make it in about an hour or so if i am racing fast. i dont like riding when its freezing cos the bridges i go over can freeze over.

Congrats on starting during the winter season. You're just gonna loooove spring!

Ha ha - awesome!

phyko - that sounds like my experience when I did my first cold weather commute a few years ago. Getting the right gear makes it SOOOOO much nicer.

Awesome. Hell of a season to start, but as was mentioned above, springtime is gonna be pretty flippin' sweet for you. (Well, for all of us, but you especially.)

Yeah I dont know why I didnt start commuting in the summer. I was just riding my bicycle around during the summer(I have a fixed gear bicycle for just messing around). I guess since it was winter, my friends didnt want to just ride around anymore. And I was having bicycling withdrawal, so I decided to get a geared bike and start commuting.

And yeah. The right gear makes a difference. I thought that I would be freezing my butt off. But actually, with the right layers (and lots and lots of tips in these forums), I actually am sometimes too hot and have to zip open my jacket a little. haha.

Oh yeah. I decided to add a light mounted to my helmet. Biiig difference to just having a light on your handlebars. Being able to look around is wonderfully nice.

Great story , keep it up you will love it.Seems like its in your blood now.

Good on you! I remember the first couple of weeks and how tough it was. It does get easier- there will come a day very soon when you will suddenly realise that you have been enjoying the ride for the last 10 miles without thinking of how far to go or how much your legs hurt!

I actually noticed that on my ride in to work today. Before, I used to look at the mile markers and think ("Okay. 8 more miles to go... 7.5 more miles to go...crap...) But today, I was like, "whoa. Only four more miles to go?!!?"

Congrats, and welcome to the club

Thanks thanks. there is so much knowledge in these forums. (This is where I found the great advice of using goggles). I sometimes feel like my head swells when I read all the threads. I feel like I am about to explode. So I sometimes talk my non-bicycle friend's ears off talking about derailers, and fenders, and layers.

Yeah, that transition from thinking about how much further there is to go, and forgetting all about it, is a great one. Here in Phoenix, we have the opposite issue. I started commuting last spring, and when I started investing in 'stuff', my wife asked "Shouldn't you wait until you see if you can ride in Summer before buying stuff that will sit around?" I told her I needed to ride through the spring to even -think- about riding in the summer, but if I did, I'd keep riding in the heat. I told everyone that 110* would be my limit, but ended up never driving because of the heat. Thought I would die at 115*, but I made it and have never looked back.

I know it is really tough in the winter cold climates, but I think that, in both extremes, the attitude that works is "Weather is never an excuse to drive." I drive only when I have a doctor's appt or something like that. And to make the day reasonable when that happens, I buy a dozen donuts for the folks here. It's ironic, because, since I bike, I am the only one that can really afford the calories. :-)

Good for you. Just make sure you take enough time to recover, so you don't burn out. Right now you have the buzz from your early accomplishement and this will continue as you gain strength and fitness. But that only happens if you give your body the time to adapt. Some downtime is necessary. I call it "horizontal training."

All the best.

Good work commuting. Keep it up. I was looking at a salsa casseroll too. Those are nice bikes. How do you like it?

Wow. I cant even imagine riding in that temp. I think I like the cold a little better since I dont sweat as much. I think if I had to ride in 115 degree weather, I would have to ride naked.

Thanks for the advice I did feel the effect of downtime. I didnt ride at all this weekend and on monday because of weather/errands. So when I got back on Tuesday, I had such a huge surge of energy. And I dont think you need to worry aboud me getting enough horizontal training... haha. I sleep like a log.

It is a great bike. I had it single speed this summer. I added gears to it when I started commuting though. Also added fenders and a rack.