I say go for the bike, I cycle to work in NYC all year round and no way are the winter weather conditions any worse than anything you will get in Orlando.

Not only will you save money (gas , car insurance etc) but you will find your cardio improves giving you more energy for your day.

Just be safe out there

It's funny. I just know you typed "thank you for your advice" but somehow it got garbled into more whining about feeling bashed and insulted.

You want to be told that full-time bike commuting is "right for you". Don't you get that nobody can tell you that? You can't even say that to yourself right now. You simply don't have any experience.

The most sensible way to try out a new hobby - especially for someone with very limited funds - is as cheaply as possible. See if you can maintain a commuting habit. See if you can commute in bad weather. See if you're able to maintain a bike, change flats on the road, etc. Then - and only then - you'll know whether to go for a more expensive bike and commuting gear, someday down the road. Several people have told you that. But you keep writing essays about hopes and dreams. Which just don't matter.

I don't think the OP wants your permission Bud, or my permission, or his parents. Just read the title of the thread. And if you are waiting for people to thank you for advice you give on the Internet, you know that's a hit or miss affair. And I understand that you really care and want to see the best for him.

He wants advice on how to do it. His LBS of course gave him the most expensive advice. He's gotten advice on how to do it cheaper. He's about to matriculate to that school which we all must attend; not Hogwarts, but the College of Hard Knocks.

I suspect that he's not as starry-eyed as you may think. And we've given our best advice, mine being that he should take LAB commuting courses, not only for his information, but because doing so lets his parents know that he is being serious and getting known levels of education about a very important subject. But to insist that he follow it, is a waste of our breath. He's going to do what he determines is best. And just as when Bill Gates decided that dropping out of Harvard was just the thing to do, I'm sure all the adults said, "Bill, this is foolishness!". Sometimes things work out. Sometimes not.

And yes, his hopes and dreams matter very very much. If I can quote Emil Frankl, Those who have a why to live, can bear with almost any how., and dreams are all about why.

^^ this

You gotta walk before you can run...or ride...son. Start with an inexpensive used bike and gently push the envelope of your comfort zone. I'd hate to see you drop a lot of scratch on that Sirrus only to end up with it collecting dust if you decide bike commuting or triathlons are not for you.

and since we're posting HTFU winter pics...





My daughter lives down in Cocoa. Other than the occasional hurricane there isn't much in the way of weather that should stop you from riding. I wouldn't even bother with a rain coat...just ride in some shorts and a shirt when it rains, carrying your 'good' clothes in a waterproof bag in a rack trunk, panniers, handlebar bag, saddlebag, backpack, messenger bag (whichever works best for you) so you can change at your destination. Sandals are great for wet riding! Point is, weather is only a limiting factor in its extremes...or if you let it be one.

HAHAHAHAHAHA that's a good one.

Granted it goes without saying that the OP's parents have his best interests at heart, but as with his parents he needs to make his own mistakes and learn from them. What would he learn if he (or anyone) didn't question his parents and try things on his own?

And it's not like he's heading out to climb Everest. He's just jumping into cycle commuting. Yes, he may find that he doesn't like it, or he may find that he loves it. And is willing to accept any and all "shortcomings" that comes with it.

He may find that he enjoys it so much that he decides not to buy a car and to live carfree. As a lot of other people have also decided to do.

The bottom line is that it is his money and his life and if he decides to jump into cycle commuting with both feet, as it looks like he's getting ready to do.

Why do I want to convince others about my biking life style? If they don't like it -- I could give a rip. And if they aren't interested, I don't care.either. And I have no interest in getting them to do what i do.

Well, thank you all again for your valuable inputs. I purchased the 2012 Specialized Sirrus Comp on Saturday. I rode it to work this Sunday. It was fun being able to go routes that I've never gone through with a car before. And it was funny passing cars while they waited for the light. Or sitting right by one at a light for that matter. So I can say, for my first day, I had a good time. I'll say my lower back is aching a bit though. I'm not sure if it was from the ride, or my backpack...

But I'm enjoying myself so far, and I'm glad to finally be able to be apart of the bicycle community!

Thanks again, guys!

Welcome to the Club!! and just to remind you of how nice it is to be in Florida here is yet another Polar Express Cyclist from the far northern reaches. This is me commuting home on a -8〫F night.

Happy Riding!!

Great pic buzzman - that was me last NYC winter - strangely its been unseasonably warm this fall ....so far!

Welcome

pics of new bike?

Ha! That is a great motivational pic, buzzman. Every time there's a rain storm while I'm riding. I'm going to think of you and chipcom riding through piles of snow!

@idc, thanks for the welcome!

I'll definitely get some pictures up in the pic thread, soon.

Yeah- no complaints though. Maybe VictorMikeLima has been sending us some of his Florida weather! That pic is from last winter but in Boston, my usual home, not here in NYC. It was a sub zero night with a good wind but I was toasty warm pounding through the snow.

nice and like someone said above VERY MOTIVATIONAL

thanks again :-D

I would say buy the car with the $800 to comfort the parents and for a back up during bad weather or whatever. Then get a used bicycle for $200 or less and put it on a credit card. Let the car sit, ride you bike to work, and you will be able to quickly pay of the credit card used for the bike with the money you save on gas alone...not to mention repairs. Just an idea.

I've ridden in snow (when I was rabidly car free living in Colorado I'd swap on a set of spare wheels with cyclocross tires, don ski goggles, and have at it), rain, 100 degree weather, -10 degree weather, 25 MPH head winds, 50 MPH tail winds...

While less pleasant than a sunny wind-free 60 degree day it's doable. You just have to dress for it (in my pannier there's a jacket for rain, a jacket for cold, rain pants, shoe covers, knee warmers, and a long sleeved jersey).

Fenders are a very good idea if you plan on riding in rain.

I rode 11.8 miles each way 4 days a week for a year before I moved (5 days would be possible, but riding easy isn't as fun). With 24 traffic lights (one right turn) and 10 stop signs that took 42-55 minutes depending on intensity, traffic, wind, etc. It was nice.

I probably had more energy than if I drove.

Other people go farther.

If you take a shower so you're clean before you leave you won't smell. If you change into dry clothes at work you won't be wet.

The speed limit isn't that relevant. How big the shoulder is (I enjoyed riding on a 55 MPH highway with an 8' wide shoulder), how many lanes there are (my current commute starts on a 40 MPH road with no shoulder, but 2-lanes in each direction and moderate traffic. People can still go around me without passing too close. While not very relaxing it's workable), and whether there are blind curves all make a difference.

\m/

Bicycle commuting gets easier with practice. I started off my doing 10 miles RT and have worked up to 36. You could also start by biking part way and taking public transportation the rest of the way, building up to longer rides. On bad weather days, it's always a good option. I still take the bus sometimes if I'm too tired. My family also had doubts whether I could do it, but I just started doing it and eventually accepted it as a transportation alternative. Stick around here and you'll pick up a lot of good bits.

why did you waste your time replying to that well known troll, LarryMelman?

Congratulation on your first of many commutes.......

I've spent the last 4 years commuting by bike full time and have lost count of the number of people who tell me bike commuting is deadly and I need to stop. My mom, strangers, grocery store cashiers, a couple of librarians, walk in clinic nurse, several people I've shared an elevator in my building have all asked me to give up bike commuting because I could get killed. Talk about dreary. I'm a careful, defensive cyclist and I take very few chances on the road. I'm also a cautious pedestrian and like to think I haven't been run over by a car for similar habits. The thing is everybody can do something risky at some point of the day whether it's step into a shower, eat iffy looking seafood, get in the elevator with the absolute wrong person, jay walk, push the speed limit or talk to me before I drink a cup of coffee in the morning. I have stuff to do and would rather not live with someone else's perception of bike commuting risk when that person has never done any. Be safe. Have fun.

Awesome! But: be really careful when passing stopped traffic on the right. That's how left cross crashes happen. And as soon as you can afford it, you might want to ditch the backpack and get either panniers or Wald folding baskets for the rear rack -- a backpack makes you unstable, and as soon as the Florida heat comes back, it'll make you really !@#$% sweaty, too.

I grew up in Daytona, and have spent a lot of time in Orlando. It can be an OK place to ride a bike, but you really need to know what you're doing on those big arterial roads. I really highly recommend that you take a traffic skills class with CyclingSavvy -- they'll help you skip the potentially dangerous period of rookie mistakes, and they can help you find the best routes, too.

Nice.

This photo reminds me of something I'd forgotten about my cycling history. When I moved to Ann Arbor from England a long time ago (early 80's), I brought the old Dawes with me and used that exclusively around town for many months until I bought a car. My commute to the U of M campus wasn't far (maybe 5 miles) but I did it every day regardless of weather (this was in the winter, bought the car in the Spring). My colleagues in the Dept thought I was a bit of an nutter (shades of "Mad Dogs and Englishmen ......") to ride in even on the coldest of days but I enjoyed it.

Wish I had a similar photo of me with the old touring rig in the dead of a MI winter. We hardly ever got near-zero F weather like that back in England - really makes you take notice.

Agreed. I had some arguments with my wife when I first started commuting in snow storms. She eventually came to appreciate that I could do it safely.

Paul

Excellent post. When my family/friends/co-workers try to back me off from commuting by bicycle, the two major things I think are: 1.) It's not nearly as dangerous as they believe; and 2.) The danger of a sedentary lifestyle (living on a couch and in a "cage") is much more acute. I've discovered that the longer I do it and the more they get used to it, the less they tend to comment.

Oh, and btw, I don't speak to my wife in the morning before that precious first cup of coffee either . . .