First Time Commuter saying "Hi."
 

I have to say I love commuting. I haven't ridden a bike this much since I was in my mid teens, and it makes me wonder why I ever stopped (besides the whole first car and gas only being like $1.25 a gallon at the time). I love it so much it makes me wish I wasn't going to work and I could just keep riding. I love it so much I'm already looking in to getting a touring bike. I have also recently quit smoking and when I want to smoke, I ride instead. Thank you bicycle, and hello bicycle forums.

Congratulations on making some wise changes for your health/life. Tell us a little about your commute. How far is it, what kind of streets/paths. Don't forget to tell us about your bike too!

Welcome aboard, you're going to like it here! :)

Hey, welcome to the cult! Congrats on quitting smoking, too.

You're definitely on the right track with your touring bike idea. If you have any questions about anything bike related, this is the place to ask it.

Just remember these four things, and you'll be fine:

Steel is real.
Brooks B17 saddles are excellent.
Carradice bags rock.
Nitto Noodle handlebar will change your riding experience for the better.

:-)

Welcome aboard. There's always room for one more.

You're part of an elite group; those who've figured out that getting to work in the open air under muscle power is far more fun than the treadmill of driving the same route, in the same crowded conditions, everyday.

Congratulations!

Also, remember that Jamis Codas are the very best in chromoly steel hybrids! :thumb:

You might wanna checkout their chromoly steel Touring Series too, called the Jamis Aurora!

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Hey! We're just kiddin' ya.

These are somewhat contended and debateable topics here....Is all!

So what kinda bike do you have, Davasi?

Welcome to the herd! Like you, I quit smoking shortly before beginning bike commuting. While the two major life events were not intentionally made to coincide with each other, they did mutually reinforce each other. That was about the years ago. Since then I've ridden at least 3000 miles each year and haven't smoked or had any desire to, once I got past the initial couple months of withdrawal.

Good luck keeping up the quitting and the commuting. You'll be so much better off for it... but you already knew that. :-) :thumb:

Welcome! Hope to hear more of your commutes!

Congrats! Biking can help on so many levels. Keep on commuting; the miles will fly by!

Welcome! I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here. I learned a lot about commuting in this forum.

If you haven't ridden in a long while, you may wish to consider taking a bike safety course.

Enjoy your commuting and congratulations on quitting smoking!

Anything any one of us can do to help just ask. Please, tell us about your commute. Like how far, type of bike, terrain, etc. Where do you live? Well, no need to give your address, but your town or if rural your general area. There's so much info in these forums it can overwhelm. I've been cycle-commuting for 25 years and I still learn stuff everyday while perusing these forums. Thank you for posting and welcome to BF!! :thumb:

Btw, I'm printing your post and putting it on my refrigerator. :p

This is somewhat true.
BUT;
YMMV!!!!


You will also get many opinions on what is best,
which may or may not be best for you.

Good luck and welcome aboard!

Man I'm feeling old. In my mid-teens gas was 19 Cents a gallon.

I had a freind who was taking a motorcycle trip from Ohio to California, and he had to come back after making it to Colorado because he lost a $20 bill.

I remember taking the gas can to the gas station at the corner and coming home with a couple of gallons for $1. Interestingly enough, here is the price of gas in today's doallars: http://zfacts.com/p/35.html

That price of gas in todays dollars chart is probably correct, but if you read down they sure have some highly questionable comments, like this statement:

What a bunch of bull. Competition to best their competitors in all areas is stiff. No manufacture would ever turn down the opportunity to increase fuel mileage (especially an entire mpg!!!) just to "save $18". I never heard of zfacts before, but now I know they pull it out of their butt as they write it.

And to get back on topic, what of the OP? I hope he's not stuck on his commute somewhere!

I was on vacation last week, so I haven't had time to reply (I try to use my "dumbphone" as little as possible on family vacations). My commute is 10 miles round trip. I live in Unincorporated Seminole in Pinellas County, FL. It is unfortunately not the most bike friendly area, but luckily I have one, two-lane road, complete with bike lanes that takes me all the way up to the Pinellas County Trail. I work maybe two blocks from a trail exit where I use the sidewalk. I know that is a contentious issue, but if you know about Park Blvd you'd ride on the sidewalk too. I work a late shift (or tour as it is called at the phone company), so I have some night riding involved but as I am a safety nut at work I make sure I am extremely visible on the trail as well as roads. I went the BD route for my bike. I bought the Motobecane Cafe Express8. I have a good friend that works at an LBS and he had me bring it in and make sure everything was solid on it. It was, but my brake adjusting needs a little practice. I am loving the Shimano 8-speed IGH on it. The only things I wasn't too happy with were the saddle and pedals. I ordered a Brooks today. I tried my buddy's and it was sweet. I haven't got a rack or bag yet, but ordered some planet bike fenders. I had to get some smaller tires so I could go with the 45mm fenders instead of the 60mm ATB ones. My bike came stock with 700X40c. I got some 35c to allow fender clearance. My light setup seems sufficient. Tons of light pollution on the trail, and the roads are well lit around here. I'm still loving it, and am down to smoking a couple cigs when I hit the pub on the weekend. I think maybe I should ride to Dunedin, they have bars right off the trail there. That might make me not want to smoke as much after having a few.