I've been commuting by bicycle year round for years now. I LOVE IT. More often than not, it's just the best part of my day. It's a stress reliever, it's my workout, it saves money, and it's environmentally friendly. Most importantly, day in day out, year round, it's fun.
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| Look how much fun I've had. |
My ride is 15 miles each way, so I use a touring bike and I wear bicycling clothing. If you've got a shorter commute (less than five miles, let's say) you can use just about any bike and wear what you like. So, for a short commute, any bike, any clothing, you're good to go.
If you've got a commute that's too far you can try driving part way and cycling the rest or get an electric assist bicycle. Ebikes have motors that give you an assist when you pedal. You still get a workout, but you can go further/faster than you would have on muscle alone.
But is it safe to bicycle to work? Yes, it's safe Ride on the right side of the road. Stop at stop lights. Stay out of the door zone. It's safe.
1. Don't feel like you have to do 100% right off the bat with this. Ease into it. Bike in, get a lift home with your bike, etc. It takes a while to get used to working out twice a day every day. Even now, years into doing this, I can get pretty worn out at the end of the week. It's a good worn out though. You sleep really well.
2. Make sure your bike is mechanically sound. Those brakes work, right? Nothing wobbly? Get it checked out if you aren't sure. Pump up those tires every couple weeks!
3. A little planning ahead goes a long way. Maybe you want to bring in a couple days' worth of work clothing and food? I do this when I want to ride my "for fun" racing bike that doesn't have a rack & panniers.
4. Check out that route. Maybe there's a slightly longer but quieter route that's better for cycling? Talk to area cyclists. Check out ridewithgps or mapmyride. Talk to bike commuters at your office.
5. Clothing: for longer commutes you really want to go with padded bike shorts. If you're the shy type who is not yet ready to dress like a superhero to commute, check out mountain biking shorts. They look like regular shorts, but they have hidden padding. Personally, I'm OK with dressing like a superhero every day. Saddle fit is a whole thing on its own too.
6. Fenders and lights. Even you don't intend on riding at night or in the rain, you might end up riding after it rains. Fenders will keep you clean and dry. Or at least drier. I use my front white light on blink and my rear red blinkie on during the day too. Statistics are hard to come by on whether or not this is safer, but with modern rechargeable lights that have very long burn times, so why not? Point that front light down a bit to be kind to pedestrians. Fenders and lights. Really important.
7. Stop at stop lights & stop signs. I haven't perfected the art of letting solid objects pass through me, so this is what I do. Having said that, there may be tough intersections where you want to jump the light or cross on the pedestrian signal. If you have to do this, be careful and make sure you aren't making any pedestrians break stride. Be polite and kind to the pedestrians.
8. Ring your bell hello at kids in strollers and on bikes. You do have a bell, right?
9. Use a rack and a pannier instead of a backpack. Save the backache and keep that back clear for cooling!
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| Parking is easy to find in many offices. |
But is it safe to bicycle to work? Yes, it's safe Ride on the right side of the road. Stop at stop lights. Stay out of the door zone. It's safe.
1. Don't feel like you have to do 100% right off the bat with this. Ease into it. Bike in, get a lift home with your bike, etc. It takes a while to get used to working out twice a day every day. Even now, years into doing this, I can get pretty worn out at the end of the week. It's a good worn out though. You sleep really well.
2. Make sure your bike is mechanically sound. Those brakes work, right? Nothing wobbly? Get it checked out if you aren't sure. Pump up those tires every couple weeks!
3. A little planning ahead goes a long way. Maybe you want to bring in a couple days' worth of work clothing and food? I do this when I want to ride my "for fun" racing bike that doesn't have a rack & panniers.
4. Check out that route. Maybe there's a slightly longer but quieter route that's better for cycling? Talk to area cyclists. Check out ridewithgps or mapmyride. Talk to bike commuters at your office.
5. Clothing: for longer commutes you really want to go with padded bike shorts. If you're the shy type who is not yet ready to dress like a superhero to commute, check out mountain biking shorts. They look like regular shorts, but they have hidden padding. Personally, I'm OK with dressing like a superhero every day. Saddle fit is a whole thing on its own too.
6. Fenders and lights. Even you don't intend on riding at night or in the rain, you might end up riding after it rains. Fenders will keep you clean and dry. Or at least drier. I use my front white light on blink and my rear red blinkie on during the day too. Statistics are hard to come by on whether or not this is safer, but with modern rechargeable lights that have very long burn times, so why not? Point that front light down a bit to be kind to pedestrians. Fenders and lights. Really important.
7. Stop at stop lights & stop signs. I haven't perfected the art of letting solid objects pass through me, so this is what I do. Having said that, there may be tough intersections where you want to jump the light or cross on the pedestrian signal. If you have to do this, be careful and make sure you aren't making any pedestrians break stride. Be polite and kind to the pedestrians.
8. Ring your bell hello at kids in strollers and on bikes. You do have a bell, right?
9. Use a rack and a pannier instead of a backpack. Save the backache and keep that back clear for cooling!
10. Have fun! The drivers sure aren't.
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| Dressing like a superhero who doesn't know how to take a proper selfie |
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