Today I went out and took a test ride with the suggested route, I first tested the WillyB route... the traffic at Church Ave is horrible (cry). I noticed quite a bit of holes in the road, but it wasn't too bad. The rest was pretty good, the bridge is very easy to ride on. I like the route ecause the bedford ave is easy to follow, but the Church ave is a little bit hard to take care, maybe I picked a bed time to try it (3pm)... and after I finish the bridge, it was a lot of cars to get though and get on the ave.

It is quite difficult, the car driver at the church ave was not very friendly, they were "Booing" me quite a few times, and the traffic is complete stop for a good 3, 4 mins, I ended up getting off my bike and walk with it on the side walk (there were ton of people... and I don't want to ride on it if I don't need to....) and there were cars double park to make matter worst. After I able to get on the Bedford ave, it was quite good. I wonder how the prospect park route would feel like, I hope I can try to hit it early tomorrow at the morning, (I guess the traffic should be better at 8/9am compare to the afternoon friday...) Thank you very much everyone. Here is my update!

I am saving up for accessories, but I won't be able to have one until next month :( also it comes to the problem, how do you guys do it when you arrive to school/ work completely wet? All I can think of is bring an extra shirt + jeans + 1 towel to clean myself a little in the bathroom, but I still kinda smells... I am thinking about maybe only way is to take subway with my bike to school, and ride it back. How do you guys do it? I look a little bit like a fool trying to clean up after i got to school, and it's hard to wash my hair in the sink... :P

Yea, I think I will try the manhattan bridge too, lastly will be the queensboro bridge, because the traffic in NYC can get quite bad.... will it be better if it's early in the morning, say, 8am? compare to 11am/1pm. And there were quite a bit of broken glasses on the road, maybe some people throw their beer bottle or something, i was quite afraid when my bike run above them.

If you take the Queensborough Bridge, it will add many more miles to your commute. The most direct way remains getting into Manhattan via one of the lower East River bridges and then going up one of the avenues on the east side.

As I've gotten faster and more confident on my bike, I've learned that riding in the car lanes in much better, in this respect - fat car tires clean the road of small debris that could easily puncture our tires (and the road surface tends to be a little smoother, too, it seems).

I picked Church Ave arbitrarily since I wasn't sure where exactly you're coming from. You can try any other cross street to get over to Bedford Ave, it doesn't have to be Church.

As far as staying clean, maybe we need a sticky (he he he!) here. It's a very common question.

Here you go.

Clean sweat doesn't smell, what smells is the bacteria that grows in it. The key to be smell-free after a ride is to start clean and get rid of all the sweat before it dries out, i.e changing all your clothes. This is a long ride, I suggest wearing bicycle clothing or at least something lighter. So here is what I do.

What you need to take along with you:

- a full change of clothes
- WetOnes wipes, if you don't have access to showers or large sink
- towel
- stick deodorant

Shower thoroughly before leaving, it's important! The idea is to start with clean body before the ride. Wear fresh clothes. DO NOT USE ANY DEODORANTS at this point! It will just make cleaning up messy and it won't help much anyway.

After arriving at your destination wash your hair, face and armpits. Wipe the sweat with paper towels from areas of your body that can't be washed. If you can't wash the armpits use the WetOnes. Use the WetOnes on the rest of your body including your feet then change all your clothes down to your socks. Now you can apply some some deodorant and whatever else you'd like.

I do this at work every day and I don't smell :D

What helps a lot to control body odor is to have a very short haircut and trim your armpit hair. You can also considering buying a pure Australian Merino wool t-shirt or jersey, they don't stink as badly as synthetics or even cotton. You can wear them several times without washing.

Adam

rumrunn6, I've commuted in both NYC and Boston. Both have their pitfalls. Boston drivers are, as a rule, worse. But traffic volume in NYC is greater, and distances are usually longer, so overall, NYC is probably harder.

These days there are tons and tons of bike commuters who are not "bike people." They're just people who happen to travel by bike. So you don't have to be "serious" to survive and thrive.

ywchan, I'm glad you've decided to do this. In a few months, you will be giving advice rather than asking for it. As others have said, it gets easier, and you'll be surprised at how it doesn't take long.

I generally don't change my clothes in the middle of the day. When I'm soaked with sweat and arrive at my destination, I sit as still as possible and drink a lot of ice water. I eventually dry off.

LOL, if I did that I would be considered a toxic safety risk at work :D They'd lock me up in a cold room and call the HAZMAT team!

Yeah, it does get easier and you eventually work out your own tricks, methods, routes, etc. It'll become a habit. It's always good to ask for advice but keep your eyes opened for your own solutions and ideas. Don't get discouraged if it's hard at first. Your route is kind of long for a beginning commuter, a real workout. So I'd say you're doing great so far.

It's also true that there are lots of people, this year in particular, who a re new to bike commuting and not all seem to give a lot of thought to this, um... OK I won't elaborate on this one:D You don't need t be a tough and serious to do this, you could just get on and ride, but being prepared will make the experience more fun and you'll learn faster. I can't imagine any other way to commute right now, it has become completely natural for me.

And we're always happy to help!

PS. Re.: ice water, it gives me sore throat and doesn't quench my thirst, I end up with dry mouth, weird? I have to drink water that is just a bit colder than the ambient temperature. When I pour water from the cooler at work I always add some hot water, it's too cold for me. I noticed few others do that too.

Thank you very much for posting such a detailed suggestions and advice regard to the problem of cleaning up. I really appericate it, I actually printed it out and stick it to my wall to remind myself. I am working on it, so far I did 2 successful ride to school, only one way. Yesterday was the first day of my trip that I actually go to school with it, it was quite tiring, I am not in very good shape, but the bike didn't put that much pressure on my body overall. Unlike jogging, my leg doesn't hurt as much as I just ran 1 mile and the next day I can't even walk. On the bike, I can do it fine without much pain. (Only pain I have is the back pain due to the lower angle.)

The wind is always against me when I am going to school, and the backpack is really heavy. (Yesterday I took the full load, and it makes a big difference, it took me 2hr and 20 mins to get to school, compare to 2 hr flat with nothing but water...) It wasn't easy, I wish I live slightly closer to school, 15 miles is a little bit much with backpack. I think maybe I need to bring less things with me, I weighted my backpack, it's 18 pounds (not even with water). So it might be the problem.... but then maybe a pannier will help. I would like to ride back home, but I don't have the lights yet, so I am still taking the subway home right now.

I feel alright up until the bridge, but the NYC cars aren't that friendly, and often there is some people just riding pretty slowly on the bike lane (not that I am fast, but they are talking on the phone.........) And when I stop for the lights, they pass me right again. So it's a bit of things I don't like about...

I really wish I can able to do it both back and forth, and actually stay within 1 and half hr like the map suggested. I find myself stopping for lights almost every block, it's kinda suck. And the weight issue too.... I feel I can do it without the added wieight of books, laptop, cloth, but adding these things, and the distance, with the lights, it isn't that easy.

Thank you my friend AdamDZ, you are very helpful. And the other members who gave me advices, I will work on it and see if I can improve on it.

You will find that it's MUCH easier to ride with your load attached to your bike rather than to your body. I dislike riding with a backpack!

Riding with a backpack takes more effort, and it makes it harder for you to turn your head and shoulders.

I'd stick with the Manhattan Bridge route, which is the route I take on my commute to the Grand Central area. I use Prospect Park and Vanderbilt, and take either Dekalb or Myrtle Ave to Ashland/Navy st, and then Sands St. Once in Manhattan I go right on Canal at the end of the bridge, left onto the bike lane on Allen St, which becomes 1st Avenue. 1st Avenue has a brand new bike lane being put onto it (it may be finished now, I haven't been on it in 2 weeks.) Use 2nd Avenue coming back which takes you straight down to the bridge. Coming back to Brooklyn I always take a left on Myrtle as no other street goes through the entire way to Vanderbilt without getting into some traffic.

If you stay on Ocean Parkway past Church Ave, on the one way WITH the traffic (not on the expressway of course) you'll curve around to the entrance to Prospect Park. You will be on bike lanes almost the entire ride if you follow this, which is pretty amazing considering the distance.

And I agree with the panniers. It is much easier to ride with the bag on the bike than on your back.

Exactly: once you put your stuff in panniers, or other bags, and off your back you will feel a difference! Particularly in hot weather it's nice to have a breeze down your back. It's a HUGE difference and it looks like you carry a lot of weight and your commute is long by NYC standards. IMHO two rear panniers is the way to go: you can haul 30lbs easily and won't even tell.

If I may I suggest: a Topeak Supertourist rack and Axiom Typhoon waterproof panniers. Axiom also makes a smaller version, the Monsoon, but they'll be too small. I actually have all four of them on my commuter :D They really take the worry off of getting your stuff wet. I rode with them thorough Winter's sludge and heaviest downpours and none of my stuff got wet.

You're doing very well considering the length of your route and the weather. Be careful, take it easy, drink a lot of water all day. Too much heat makes you tired and less alert so make sure you stay hydrated! Take advantage of shade whenever you can. if I stop a a light, for example, I try to remain in in the buildings' shadows.

My commute was close to 1:30, now it's under 40 minutes. Once you get your set up with panniers, get more practice, become stronger and optimize your route it WILL get better.

Regarding lights: stop, really, you don't gain that much by running lights, you risk getting hit and you CAN get a ticket! There is a guy in General Biking forum complaing that he got a ticket for running a light: $270, ouch! I got stopped once too, but I was super nice and apologetic to the cop and got away with a $40 summons. I ve been trying to be good since then. Often, the urge is too strong, but I'm getting better. This dude started acting smartass with the cop "I didn't know bikes were supposed to stop at a red light" and he got the max fine.

Ironically, a bike activist was killed last year on Queens Blvd when he rode through a red light. I used to run more lights, now being more careful and trying to set example and I didn't notice any increase in my commuting time. I was told that most city lights are synced to vehicles moving between 17-19 mph. Once you get used to your route you may be able to figure out and time the lights on a bike better than in a car. I can ride on 1st Ave from 14th to 34th without stopping most of the time.

So good luck and come back, tell us how it goes!

Adam