In light of recent events and the consequences, I'm wondering if some of you lifehack your way around transportation to and from work on a bicycle. Any of your tips are appreciated, especially when it comes to transporting the essentials with you and weathering the elements.
I commute by bike several days a week. Ten mile each way. Lessons I've learned: A good messenger bag is worthwhile if you aren't using racks and pannier bags. Chrome brand bags are very nice - durable and comfortable. However, carrying a laptop in a messenger bag is a BAD idea. Alot of road shocks and vibrations you might not notice will be felt by your delicate and important laptop.
HYGEINE - If you do not have ashower facility at your office, use baby wipes. If they can clean up a baby's bottom, a little sweat is not a problem. They come in handy dispensers that store nicely in a desk. You may want to store your work clothes at the office or have dry cleaning delivered there. I ride in wearing "bike clothes" and then change into work clothes.
Many cities have bike racks on the front of their buses. That could be useful.
Most important rule - don't get hit by a car and always wear a helmet.
cocoabliss wrote: > In light of recent events and the consequences, I'm wondering if some > of you lifehack your way around transportation to and from work on a > bicycle. Any of your tips are appreciated, especially when it comes to > transporting the essentials with you and weathering the elements.
As a 40 something cycling senior manager and part time geek, I think I can help.
Handed back the company car two years ago and took the alternative car
allowance. Used the first monthly allowance payment to buy a Brompton
folding bicycle[1] (on my second as first stolen) and a monthly travel
pass for the whole of central London - and still had change! Subsequent monthly allowance payments, after purchase of monthly
travel pass, were money in the bank!
Until I left my job yesterday (emigrating to NZ next week), each
morning I cycled 12 miles across London to a mainline station, took a
train[2] for 10 miles (to avoid freeway) and then another 3 miles to
my office. Each evening, I did the reverse journey.
Although I have other bikes, cycle shoes and cycle clothing, I wore
regular clothes to ride to work, save for stiff soled cycle touring
shoes. For rain, I wore a good quality cycling jacket and trousers
when I absolutely had to but, as no fabric is truly breathable, I
normally didn't bother for light showers, preferring to shelter or get
a little wet. On occasion, and as i have a folding bike, I took the
river bus[3] or subway in bad weather, carrying the bike (in a cover)
as luggage.
As for transporting essentials, I either use a Crumpler courier bag
(on my normal bikes) or the large touring pannier[4] on my Brompton. Both take my laptop and masses of other stuff without any problem.
On 02/09/05, cocoabliss <jul...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
> In light of recent events and the consequences, I'm wondering if some
> of you lifehack your way around transportation to and from work on a
> bicycle. Any of your tips are appreciated, especially when it comes to
> transporting the essentials with you and weathering the elements.
Thanks, guys. I guess those panniers/bags are in the UK only because they keep showing up on UK sites for me. Your routes make me shudder. I only have to go 4km each way in a very small city (may even qualify as a town by UK standards), but I do have RSI injuries to arms and upper back to worry about. I think I'll go for the panniers instead of back pack (rucksack) - I will keep looking for something that will fit my stuff ('office' clothes, towel, toiletries, workout clothes, purse contents, lunch and assorted things) - there is a fitness facility across the street where I work out at lunch. And I'm lucky in that I can take my bike up to my office, theft is not a big issue. But I will have to take my cheap-o hybrid bicycle in for some adjustments to the local bike shop.
I think I will have to get appropriate cycling clothing on the long run. On my hunk of granite in the middle of the North Atlantic (Nova Scotia, home to the most expensive gas/petrol in Canada - jumped $CAD0.30/litre in less than 24 hours, as Katrina paid a visit), weather can get rough. Winter should be fun.
Big nose, congrats on the move to NZ. I love that part of the world. And sorry to see your bike was stolen.
I commute by bicycle most of the time. My route is only about 2 miles but I take the opportunity to cross-train for mountain bike racing by taking some roundabout roads and pad the commute out to 10 or 12 miles each way.
Gloves, a messenger bag/pannier racks, and a helmet are the essentials. I also recommend shorts with a good chamois. I recently picked up a pair of Sette Fieldsensor shorts on http://www.pricepoint.com for about 60% off. If you're going to be hardcore and commute when there is a chance of rain, I HIGHLY suggest picking up a nylon rain shell and cramming it into an empty water bottle. That way if it does start to rain you don't have to go digging through your bag and getting the rest of your stuff wet just to find the jacket.
Your bike doesn't matter too much: I ride beat up old 1980s Bridgestone track bike that I've converted into a fixed gear, but I know other people that ride mountain bikes and regular road bikes as well. Slicks are better than knobbies, of course.
My office doesn't have shower facilities so I'll second the idea of keeping some baby wipes and a gym towel on hand. Find a handicapped stall if you need to and change in there (the handrails are great for hanging your stuff on while you change). I also bring some Axe or spray-deodorant to spray down with after I'm done changing. Make sure you hang up your bike clothes and helmet on a file cabinet or something so they'll dry out during the day!!!
My old bicycle route through London - I did this for eight months, five days a week. I can't believe I wasn't seriously hurt... although I was knocked off my bike three times by nutters who weren't looking.
Tip 1) if you haven't got a waterproof rucksack, stick everything in a plastic bag inside your rucksack.
Tip 2) Leave a pair of comfy shoes at work, Shoes are heavy to carry. Don't cycle in your work shoes -- they'll get gross (I had SPDs so I couldn't anyway)
Tip 3) If you have a shower at work, take a change of underclothes and wear yesterdays for riding, so:
Monday: Riding in Sunday's underclothes, with Monday's set in bag Tues: Riding in Monday's underclothes, etc.
There isn't a better feeling than walking into the office in the morning after an eight mile ride, a shower and a clean set of clothes.
I bike EVERY day. 5 miles one way, mostly bike path. Locatin is Grand Rapids MI USA 98 Schwinn Mesa GSX mountain bike with Conti Traffic 2.1 Tires. I wear biking clothes...shorts, shirt, gloves, helmet. If you have any darkness, LIGHTS on the front and rear.
Carry my clothes and work stuff in a LLBean Super Deluxe Backpack. The backpack is mostly water resistant so make sure to wrap up your clothes on a wet day. I find rolling the clothes keeps them from wrinkling. If it rains, I wrap my clothes in the towel...what little water gets in is absobed by the towel. The backpack has LOTS of space, has reflective elemnts, a padded back and straps.
Work has a rack and showers which is very nice. In the winter I use layering with a Cool Max shirt, Fleece Jacket and Waterproof Wind breaker with pants designed for cross county sking. Shoes are LL Bean mountain mocs and Storm Socks. Gloves are Perfomance bike Vento Windblockers, with ski gloves added below 10 degrees. The coldest I've ridden is -5 F.
Last winter wasn't too bad as the snow would melt fairly quickly, leaving the trails passable. That all changed in February. Luckily the side walks are plowed so it only added a little of time to my ride. I want to add studded tires this winter to deal with the ice. Only had 2 falls but still more than I like.
I lost 40lbs and feel great! Logged over 300 miles this past year, so I fgure I'm saving several hundred dollars....going up every day too <G>.
Websites of interest are the CommuterDude and Icebike.
Thank you all so much! I knew you guys would have expertise here. Dave E., thanks especially for addressing the weather. Michigan and Nova Scotia are pretty similar in winter, except for the plowing. I grew up in Montreal and that town knows how to remove snow. Halifax is still figuring it out somehow (like Canadian winters are a mystery). Good to know about the weight loss. I could stand to lose about 40 lbs to go back to my university days figure.
Thanks for the timely topic.. I used to commute occaisionally and the hardest part, by far, was getting out the door in the morning. Here's the list of reasons I'll tape to the bathroom mirror ...
* Gas prices * Car payments (if I can commit to it) * I could stand to lose 25 pounds or so * New job is closer * I have showers at work * It's better than prozac (or an excellent supplement)
* It's better than prozac (or an excellent supplement)
I second that - the mental/emotional benefit of cycling to work has helped me be very productive sitting in my cubicle.
I have a 'hybrid' commute. I start on my bike, ride anywhere from one to eight miles to get to the BART train station. Then after spending anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes on the train, I ride 4 miles to work. So when the weather is nice, I may end up riding close to 25 miles a day.
My total commute takes an average of 1 1/2 hrs. each morning. When I drove, since my commute is in the opposite direction of most San Francisco bay are residents, I could make it in one half hour. So in effect I spend two more hours per day traveling. The cost of gasoline and the cost of my BART ticket is nearly equivalent.
Before I started bicycle commuting, I got no significant exercise. I should have been spending at least an hour a day exercising, but I guess that was always on my "someday/maybe" list. Now that I ride my bike to get to work, I am in good enough shape to enjoy recreational cycling.
I also use the bike to run errands more often. The upward trend in fuel costs will simply encourage this.
A few comments about GTD and bike commuting. When riding, obviously the idea capturing part is difficult. I have used to voice note feature on my cell phone a few times, when waiting at a traffic light. Since part of the time I am on the train, I use that time to read, study, take care of any other NA that fits the context. Sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books when riding, with just one earbud in place for safety.
As to gear, getting a rack and panniers made a huge difference. So did bike shoes, even with ordinary platform pedals.
The biggest hurdle is the concept that some much time is lost. My travel time increased by two hours, but riding my bike really is "getting things done."
> Thanks for the timely topic.. I used to commute occaisionally and the
> hardest part, by far, was getting out the door in the morning. Here's
> the list of reasons I'll tape to the bathroom mirror ...
> * Gas prices
> * Car payments (if I can commit to it)
> * I could stand to lose 25 pounds or so
> * New job is closer
> * I have showers at work
> * It's better than prozac (or an excellent supplement)
-- :: Norm ::
bringing you uninspired signatures since 1995
Something that has helped me get out the door in the past when I have some hesitation is to remind myself that I'm going for a bike ride, rather than just commuting to my job. It makes a big psychological difference in my ride if I try to enjoy the trip rather than focusing on just getting to work.
> Thanks for the timely topic.. I used to commute occaisionally and the
> hardest part, by far, was getting out the door in the morning. Here's
> the list of reasons I'll tape to the bathroom mirror ...
> * Gas prices
> * Car payments (if I can commit to it)
> * I could stand to lose 25 pounds or so
> * New job is closer
> * I have showers at work
> * It's better than prozac (or an excellent supplement)
