Bike to Work I Go!

How many people can say that they ride their bike to work?  I do! I do!  If you have never ridden a bike to work yourself you might not understand why we do; when I say we, I mean Bike Commuters. Some people do not have a choice and their only mode of transportation is by way of bicycle.  The NCDOT takes bicycle transportation seriously, as evidenced by their devoted website.  I, fortunately, have a choice, and I choose to ride my bike to work for the sheer joy of being able to ride my bike to work.  Yes, it saves me money and keeps me in shape; two very positive aspects of riding a bicycle to work.  But, one of the best parts about riding my bike to work is the peace of mind it gives me.  My entire day is more fun because I spent my morning commute on a bike and I eagerly anticipate riding my bike home after work.  Do not misunderstand, biking to work does take a considerable amount of effort, but the extra effort is worth its weight in gold!

My typical commute:
The days I ride to work I must wake up earlier than when I drive.  It takes extra time to prepare my gear, prepare the bike, ride to work, and change into typical work clothes at work.  First and foremost clothing must be carefully selected and worn or stowed.  Stowed you ask?  Take today for example:  It was 21 degrees when I left for work and 42 degrees when I rode home.  That is a 21 degree change... it was twice as warm on my way home than it was on my way to work.  So, on my way to work I wore more clothing and some pieces needed to be brought with me that would be lighter weight for the ride home.  For example, my gloves and headband were lighter weight for the ride home; so I would not sweat too much.  The rest of the clothes could be layered under warmer clothes.  The warmer clothing can then be stored in a bag on the way home and added if it cools down on the way home as well; this does happen.

As you can see from the photo to the left I have quite an elaborate bag for transporting my gear to and from work.  Sorry for the blurry photo.  After the clothing issue, the next on the list is to prepare the bike.  Make sure you have enough air in the tires, oil the chain, lock, headlight and taillight.  From the photo up top you can see I have very bright lights.  I like to see and be seen, PERIOD!  I could blog entirely about lights; basically, I have a Planet Bike Strobe on the rear, and a 3600 lumen headlight (rechargeable) on the front.  The next order of business would be food.  You have to pack or plan to purchase enough food to sustain you through the day plus extra calories to compensate for the amount of cycling you are doing.  You do not want to have your engine quit on you, especially on the way home.  Next you must pack everything into your bag, including work clothing and hygiene products you may need once you arrive at your destination.  I keep some outer clothes, shoes and hygiene products at work and carry underwear and socks with me; depends on your situation, you may even be close enough to ride in your work clothes.  Lastly, you need to be sure to leave with enough time to arrive at work and have time to change and prepare for the day at work.  I generally have a 35 minute commute by car and a 45 minute commute by bike with 10-20 minutes of change time depending on time of year.  All of this preparation, including the creation of a comfortable commuter rig takes time and by that I mean lots of trial and error and learning over the years.  If you want I am more than willing to answer questions if you contact me and below I have included some links to valuable resources for your education.

Most Important: BE VISIBLE!!
Notice how the flash from my camera is reflected back from the reflective properties of my bag and all of the ultra reflective tape I have on my bike?  Also on the picture up top can you see my strobing tailight?
That headlight up front also strobes for that hard to be seen dawn and dusk time of day.  Please be sure to be seen, don't rely 100% on your clothing or the reflectors you bike was originally equipped with.

The best part about commuting for me is the bike experience!  On the way to work I get to breath fresh air, smell fresh cut grass, flowers, the river, etc.  Part of my morning commute is along the French Broad River Greenway.

Here the path runs right along the river... just awesome!!
On the way home, I usually take a different route that incorporates the Blue Ridge Parkway (America's longest National Park).  Sometimes, when I feel frisky I will take an excursion before I turn off on the main road to my house and continue south on the Parkway, which means I add not only distance, but some significant elevation!!

Sometimes I will just climb 20 minutes or so to the first tunnel.  The Bad Fork Valley overlook is just past the second tunnel.  I like stopping there and turning around because you can see my nemesis, Mt. Pisgah (more about Pisgah rides in the future).  I have gone up six tunnels many times, but only once have I made it to Pisgah on the way home; a 30 mile detour.  On those days I know that I have the time and the weather is just right, I look forward to my post work detour all day long!  Usually, riding to work puts me in better shape because it is a double ride; one to work and one home.  Just plain fun if you like bikes!!!

If you want to begin riding your bike to work there are some wonderful resources available to help you get started.  The Bicycle Commuter's Guide will orient you to bicycle safety, laws of the road, gear, clothing and all sorts of other things you should know and consider before you begin your new adventure.  For fun you might want to look at the Antique Version posted on the NCDOT website I mentioned earlier.  If you are interested in other resources you could look at pages like this one.