Newbie Houston Commuter
 

Hey everyone,
I recently purchased a road bike but can't ride as often due to grad school, spending time with my sweet dog, sports, and other activities.
Now I decided to start commuting around 7 miles for fun and a good workout. My commute would be from the Heights to the Galleria. Couple of questions for you guys:
How to ya'll prevent smelling bad in the office after riding to work? We dress casually at work just in case a client comes in for a meeting.
Should I use my road bike or mountain bike to commute?
What type of bag do you use to carry clothing?
Any roads in the galleria/heights area that I should avoid?
Lastly, any tips for beginners that you wish someone shared with you when you guys started commuting?

Thanks for your input :)

How to ya'll prevent smelling bad in the office after riding to work?
Some have showers at their work place, some shower at a gym close by, and some are okay with showering at home and just changing clothes with no shower, possibly using baby wipes or something else to clean off a bit.

Should I use my road bike or mountain bike to commute?
Depends on the terrain you will be riding on. Paved roads or bike paths = road. Gravel, dirt trail, other bumpy or uneven surface = mountain.

What type of bag do you use to carry clothing?
Some use a backpack, some use rear racks with trunk bags and/or side mounted panniers.

Any roads in the galleria/heights area that I should avoid?
I live in North Carolina. Can't help you here.

Lastly, any tips for beginners that you wish someone shared with you when you guys started commuting?
Try different things to find what works for you. Look through the forums here as there is a ton of good advice about what has worked for others. If you're thinking of doing this year round, you'll have to figure out lights for the shorter days, but starting right now that may not be much of an issue for a until fall.

Go to the "Regional Discussions" forum at the Texas thread. I'm sure there are lots of folks from Houston who might help you.

we have showers/towels/lockers at work. my husband once used rocket shower. shower in a can. no joke. it worked for the smell.

road bike to commute unless you plan on going off road? it will be faster and easier.

i use a messenger bag, but i would start out with a backpack that has some sort of back ventilation.

tips: carry a small pump and patch kit and know how to use them before going out there. get lights (front and back) and carry a lock at all times just in case you have to lock up the bike somewhere. wear a helmet. reflective gear if you plan on riding at night often.

as you ride, you'll pick up all the tricks. using my driving skills and knowledge helped me as a cyclist and getting comfortable riding one handed came to me as i began to give hand signals for everything to make myself as predictable as possible.

enjoy the ride!

Thanks guys, just went on a trial ride and it went great.
after researching routes I picked the one that the majority of the ride goes through a park with concrete trails.
bought some lights and some loose bike shorts too. Trying to figure out what the need to enjoy the ride :)

It just takrs doing it a few times to decide what you want/need gear wise. I thought i wouls be fine with a backpack, but learned I really hate riding with one, even for a few miles.
As for helmet..YMMV. I wear one if riding from home...11 miles each way with fast movig traffic. I don't if I am riding from the wife's office...3 miles each way, all urban, slower traffic and not using major thoroughfare roads. Sounds like you can/should do either with being in a path...whatever you are comfortable with.
I have a shower at work that I am mostly the sole user of. Anyone else who rides to work lives i the city and inly a few miles away
I've inly been to Houston once, so can't help you there. Though there are a ton of riders. Get to know others and make friends! Find group rides, and enjoy every minute of it

Play around with speed too. Ride slower, sweat less. Also get a rack to put your bag on. Backpacks can make you hot!

I saw in a later post that you actually did some searches and started with some accessories. That a magnificent first step. Search results yield nothing but opinions and you have done the only thing that someone CAN do. Actually buy something and use it to have a baseline of product types. Then, you can buy what suits you best on YOUR ride.

Take a look at the sticky at the top of this forum, if you haven't already done it.

Hi Jjmonty!

I'm a seasoned hand at commuting in Houston. My route is Westview/Gessner to UH central campus and back. As for smelling bad: Stay away from stinky foods like garlic, shower before leaving the house and take an easy pace for the ride in. (The ride home: jam baby jam!) When you get to the office add deodorant as needed, sink bathe, or if your office has shower facilities make use of them.

As for carrying clothing I use Jannd Mountaineering rear panniers on a Blackburn ex-1 rack. Many beginners use a backpack which works fine for a mile or two. Longer than that and your arms may start to go numb.

What mount: Run what you have MTB, or roadie . Make note of which works best for your route and terrian. When I started out I rode a '88 Alpine Monitor Pass MTB that I had hybridized with slicks and dynolights. Later on I picked up an '07 Specialized Sirrus that I ran stock for 2 years then converted to drop bars (and dynolighted as well) in the process I found out it worked out better for most rides than the converted MTB. The MTB is still in my stable, but held for very heavy loads as its set up with front and rear racks .

Helmet: Put me in the "Use one" camp. I had a friend who was a talented racer go down on a patch of sand without one and he wound up with right side paralysis. Now that was the relative calm of Nacogdoches in Houston roads were some of the drivers passed the "on the road" portion by the skin of their teeth and don't remember from reading that bikes are vehicles, Well yes, it might look ridiculous, but if it gives me the chance of walking away I'm going to shade my bet with one than making a brains omlett on the hot Houston asphalt.

As for advice you're in the right place.:)

We have a pretty decent sized Houston crew in the Texas regional forum. We talk commuting and local rides as well, so be sure to check it out.
I also bike to work - but from the Eldridge area to 8 - and go through Terry Hershey Park for the majority of it.
Where in the Heights are you coming from, and where in the Galleria are you going? This will help pick some good roads, especially since the Galleria is daunting every day of the week, road-wise. I'm assuming you came down through Memorial Park?

As others have said- choose whichever bike rides the route better - if it's rough and tough, maybe with some dirt paths, take a MTB with some thicker tires. If it's smooth sailing for the majority, take the roadie. MTBs will take racks more often, and pick up pannier to toss your stuff in. I'd recommend against a backpack due to backsweat central. If you don't have showers/gym at work, take the pace slower in the morning. Especially once summer hits because even at 7am, you'll still sweat your balls off.
Bring deodorant, and get some baby wipes or facial wipes from the store, and use those to refresh yo'self. Also pack a small towel - I suggest a highly foldable/packable/quick dry travel towel (like you'd bring camping - they're so much smaller, but work awesome.)

Also, lights lights lights. Get a bright front flasher to use every time, and a good rear flasher that will also show up in the daylight.