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Commuter Tutor- A Bicycle Commuting Primer

Why Ride Your bike to Work? »
Things to Consider »

Why would you want to ride your bike to work? The people who ask you that question will probably tell you it's too hard, it's dangerous, you'll get all sweaty, you'll look like a dork, blah, blah, blah. But, you're still interested, aren't you?

Well, here are some good reasons to ride your bike to work.

1. You'll save money! Between gas you won't buy and car maintenance you won't have to do, you'll save a bunch of money. Let's not forget tolls and parking fees if they apply to you. Even if you commute by mass transit now, you'll save on fares. Any money you will have to spend on your bike, special gear, and apparel will be rapidly refunded by the money you will save by not operating your car or riding a bus or train on all those trips to work or school.

2. You'll save resources! These days, we're all keenly aware of our consumption of fuel and raw materials in all the things we do, especially driving our cars. Imagine not consuming any fossil fuel to transport your body from home to work, school, or just the store and back. OPEC is gonna do a production cut in your honor.

3. You'll get into shape! There are all kinds of studies and statistics on this subject, but there is no reason to get into all that now. The fact is, cycling is really good exercise. The more you do it, the more fit you become and the better you feel. That's it. Oh yeah, you'll get thinner and maybe even be able to eat more.

4. You'll reduce stress, increase your energy, and improve your health! Research has found, and people who do it know, that there are tons of mental and physical health benefits from regular exercise like cycling. These include reduced stress, increased energy, and better overall health. In addition, bike commuting will help you maintain your proper weight, reduce problems that can accompany being overweight, like diabetes, and reduce your risk of chronic problems, like heart disease. Let's face it, if you bike commute, you'll be so healthy, you'll be able to postpone your retirement for 10 years! Oh wait, that may not be such a good thing.


Things to Consider
Here are some things that aspiring bike commuters worry about the most and often are the obstacles that keep them from starting:

1. The bike. Any bike will work for commuting. However, depending on the characteristics of your commute, certain bikes will work better for you. Bikes can be put in four basic categories.



If your commute is short and flat, you can use any kind of bike. If your commute is long and flat or short and hilly, think about a road, mountain or general bike. Use a road bike or general bike if your ride is long and hilly. If you need to purchase a bike before you can begin commuting, discuss your requirements with the gang at a bike shop, and they'll help you choose one. You don't need an expensive bike. You can expect to pay $500.00 and up for a decent new bike and $0.00 and up for a used bike. If you already have a bike, and it suits the type of commute you will be doing, go ahead and use it after it's been serviced by a good bike mechanic and you have determined whether it fits you.

2. The route. Your bike commute route is not necessarily going to be the same route you use to drive to work. Sometimes the most practical drive to work is not a safe or enjoyable cycling route. Some highways are not legal bicycle roads.

When choosing your bike commute route, look for less traffic, good pavement, riding space, the ability to see and be seen. Avoid riding into the sun when it is at a low angle. Sun glare in drivers eyes make it difficult for them to see cyclists in front of them. Find back roads or neighborhood streets that parallel your car route. If your commute is especially short, you may want to plan a longer bike route that takes in better scenery, passes your favorite diner, or gives you a better workout. If possible, incorporate rail trails, pedestrian trails, and public parks if bikes are allowed.

3. Hygiene. A lot of potential bike commuters worry about arriving at work needing a shower. This is a legitimate concern unless they work on a farm, construction site, fishing boat, sewage plant, or some other place where they will get smelly and sweaty anyway. Don't let the hygiene issue keep you from bike commuting. It can be easily resolved.

Some rides are easy enough that you won't really sweat much anyway. If you have access to a shower at work or work near a health club where you can shower, you're in luck. However a sponge bath in front of the bathroom sink can be almost as effective. Keep a washcloth and towel at work for this purpose. Pre-moistened wipes come in many variations and can work well too.

4. Cargo. What one needs to carry to and from work varies with the individual. One person may need to haul a full suit of clothes with shoes, a laptop, briefcase, lunch, and want to stop at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a six pack and a watermelon, while another may need to carry nothing more than the keys to the shop. For this reason, cargo racks, packs, and panniers are a very personal thing.

Packs come in three categories: on your back, on your bike, and hybrid.

Packs that you carry on your back are good if you want to easily bring all your stuff into work and not leave anything on the bike. These include backpacks and messenger bags. They both have a few problems, though. If they are weighed down with stuff, they can make you feel top heavy on the bike and they can hurt your back. In warm weather, your back will be sweating profusely. Messenger bags, since they have only one strap, can be unstable and slide around on your back wh ile you're riding. Obviously, they can be mastered. I see a lot of cyclists successfully riding with messenger bags squarely balanced on their backs and looking pretty cool in the process. However, the times I've tried it, the bag eventually slides off my back and ends up dangling from my neck like Flavor Flave's clock, while I desperately try to stop to rearrange it without crashing.

The advantages of bags that mount on the bike are that your center of gravity is low making you more stable. It's not on your body, avoiding a hot spot on your back. They can also have a bigger cargo capacity. The disadvantage is that they stay on the bike making it hard to transport your stuff into work, and making them vulnerable to theft when your bike is parked.

Hybrid bags and panniers mount on the bike, but are quickly removed, and have a handle or strap to make them easy to carry. Some are really back packs that have the required hardware to mount them on a rack. These hybrid bags present the best of both worlds since you can mount them on the bike and carry them into your destination.

Packs and panniers that mount on your bike usually require a rack unless they hang from the seat or handlebar. Racks either mount on the front or rear of the bike. In most cases front racks are used in conjunction with rear racks for bike touring where maximum cargo capacity is needed. If used alone, loaded front racks can cause handling and stability problems with the bike. For commuting purposes, a rear rack is all you'll need.

There are many variations of bike mounted packs and panniers. Panniers hang on the sides of rack. Trunks mount on top of the rack. Seat bags mount under the seat, you can figure out where handle bar bags go. The ones you choose will depend mostly on how much, and what kind of stuff you need to carry. Cubic inch capacity and overall dimensions is a good way to gauge your requirements. To get an idea of how much cargo capacity you need, compile the things that you will need to carry on your bike and pile it in a stack as close to a rectangular shape as you can. Then measure the length width and height in inches and multiply the three measurements together to get total cubic inches. Most pack and pannier manufacturers specify the cubic inch capacity of their products, so just match the volume of your cargo to the volume of the packs to help make your choice.

5. Weather. Do you now, or are you going to ride year round and in bad weather? The answer depends on the climate in which you live and your tolerance to discomfort. If you live in a temperate climate, like the south, you're in luck. You can ride year-round, and you just have to decide what you'll do on rainy days. If you live in Buffalo, you have some serious weather and road conditions to deal with, and have to figure out what your comfort zone is.

I live in the northeast and I don't like to ride when it's below 30ºF because it hurts my toes and fingers. I don't ride on icy roads because I don't like crashing, and I don't like riding when it's raining hard because the roads can be slippery and motorists have a hard time seeing me. Some people I know will only ride on the nicest days, when the temperature is between 65 and 80 or so, and won't ride when there's even a chance of rain. They have a very narrow comfort zone. I recently read about a guy in Detriot who uses a bike as his only mode of transportation. He rides every day year-round in a place where the average nighttime temperature in January is 17.8ºF and the average daytime temperature in July is 83.4ºF. Annual rainfall is 31 inches with 45 inches of snow. So, this guy's comfort zone is fairly broad. You have to define the parameters of your comfort zone and then ride on the days that conform. However, stay open to the possibility that your weather comfort zone may expand as you gain experience and realize that you are capable of riding safely in more difficult conditions than you expected.

5. Darkness. Riding a bike in the dark can be a problem, but it doesn’t have to be a deal breaker for bike commuters. With the proper equipment, nighttime riding can be safe. The obvious solution is visibility, and this can be achieved with light colors, reflectivity, and light sources.

I didn’t say bright colors. I said light colors. Bright colors like red or blue are not very visible in the dark. Light colors like white, high-visibility yellow, and high-visibility green are the best colors for your clothes and large bike accessories like packs, when you’re going to ride at dusk or in the dark.

Reflectivity can be had in many forms other than the standard plastic reflectors that we all remember taking off our bikes when we were kids because they weren’t cool. If you still have them, put them back on. They may not be cool, but they work. Many bike clothes come with reflective features. A lot of bike bags and panniers come with reflective strips built-in. You can sew reflective tape to your clothes and fabric bike accessories, and adhesive reflective tape can be applied to your bike, wheels, helmet, or any other hard surface on your rig.

Lights are essential for nighttime riding, so people can see you, and so you can see where you’re going. Light your bike like a car is lit because that’s what drivers expect. You need a red light that points to the back. If it blinks it will attract more attention. Unblinking white lights that point forward are what you need to see where you’re going. You may want to add a blinking white light in the front, to get the attention of drivers. There are also various novelty safety light products out there like flashing colored lights that mount in your spokes and make your spinning wheel look like the Round Up ride at the firemen’s carnival or a bad acid flashback, possibly from the same night you went on the Round Up. These are great for increasing your visibility, but can be a little disorienting for motorists, since it’s not the kind of thing they usually see on the street at night. Use these as accessory lights in addition to the white front/red back standard. There are many bike light products with a wide range of quality, brightness, battery life, price, etc. Lighting is something you shouldn’t cheap out on. Determine your maximum budget, shop around, read reviews, and pick the best products that you can afford that best suit your needs.

7. Time. 7. Time. Is the length of time it will take you to ride to work prohibitive? This is something you have to figure out for yourself. If you drive two hours on interstates to get to work, then yes, you're not a good candidate for bike commuting. If you only drive a few miles to work, you can easily go by bike. You may even want to use a longer, more scenic or challenging route that will take extra time. If you drive one hour on bike legal roadways with heavy rush hour traffic, you may be able to get to work faster on a bike since using shoulders and bike lanes can move smoothly past congested traffic.

No two commutes or commuters are the same. You have to determine for yourself if you have enough time to ride to work, given the distance and your ability. All I can say is don't underestimate yourself.

More to come!