Last week, I decided I was going to attempt to commute home from work. I would ride to work, but will need to get in better shape if I want to really think about battling those 8%+ graded hills. So I ride downtown, catch the light rail, and pedal the short distance to work.
And, I have had a few people ask me about riding a bike to work or elsewhere and have asked me for advice about the best way to do this. So, I am going to try to condense all the knowledge I have picked up over the years and try to make it easy to digest and make it easier for you, the reader or advice seeker.
First off, if you are thinking about, good for you! It is good exercise, it is safer than you think, and it can save you a lot of money. But, how do you start?
1) Obviously, you are going to need a bike. Got one? Good. What kind of shape is it in? Do you ride it at least once a month for some exercise, or has it been sitting idle for who knows how long? If it is the latter, do yourself a favor and take it to your local bike shop and have them give it a tune up. The mechanics can make sure it is running smoothly and even tell you if it is a safe bike to ride. Let them know that you plan to commute on it. Good mechanics will ask the necessary questions then. Depending on where you live, I would almost suggest taking it to a shop that focuses on repair and not sales. If you live in Portland, I would recommend City Bikes on SE Ankeny or the Community Cycling Center on NE Alberta. There are many good places to go and those are just two places I have done business with and have done very good work for a decent price. They focus on getting you back on the road with efficiency, not flair. I may go into selecting a good bike in a later blog. Stay tuned.
2) Bike in shape for the commute? Sweet! Now it is time to plan your route. Things to consider are this. How far is your commute? How is the traffic on the way there? If something goes awry with my bike, is there a bus stop nearby I can walk my bike to? What is the weather going to be like? These are important questions because they can make a difference if you commute daily or tried it one day and stopped.
I always suggest trying to find streets that have low traffic on them. This is pretty obvious, but drivers tend to realize they are cruising a residential area and need to watch out for kids and pedestrians and will cut cyclists a lot more slack. This is not always possible, but it is still important to find the safest way to get there.
Do you have a long commute? Or a short one with no bus service along the way? I would suggest carrying a spare tube, a small pump, and some tire levers in case of a flat. A bike shop sells seat bags and they are perfect for carrying these things along with tools to help. Often you can find a small, Swiss Army knife style multi-tool that will fit all of your needs. If you have bolt on wheels, however, you will want to carry a small crescent wrench, too.
3) Check the weather before you go! There are those folks out there that brag how they ride in a foot of snow or rain or shine or during earthquakes. However, if you want to be a fair-weather cyclist, you are basically joining the majority of bike commuters.
But, it does not mean it can't be done. I do ride in the rain here, but I am prepared for it. I have waterproof pants and a jacket. I have fenders and brakes that are supposed to help stop me with wet rims. I do need some shoe covers and that will be the next thing.
There are such a thing as studded snow tires for bikes. While I do think some of those people riding around in the lycra and spandex look kind of silly, there is a purpose for it. Riding year-round can be done. Again, the local bike shop can probably help you the best.
4) But how am I gonna haul all my crap? Good question. That can be tricky if you have to haul a laptop and other work stuff. The cheapest (and perhaps easiest) way is a simple backpack. It sits on your back and does not shift and does not add extra weight to the bike. However, if it is hot, your back will be sweaty. Messenger bags also do a good job. The bad is that they shift. The good is that they allow more of your back to be exposed and collect less sweat. I recently bought a metal rack that attaches to the back of my ride and found a bag that connects to the side of it. It holds quite a bit of stuff. I can easily hold my lunch, a change of clothes, my extra tubes and tools, and probably a few other things. The name for those is a pannier and comes from the name the things that people put on horses. Again, find a good local bike shop nearby and they can also help.
5) Am I going to smell like a locker room when I get to work? It depends. I mean, how hot is it? How far is it? Like me, do you sweat like crazy? There can be ways around this. Does the place you work have a shower? Find out and shower when you get there. No shower? I have heard of people keeping baby wipes as a way to wipe off the sweat when you arrive. Remember, the sweat beads off and evaporates when you ride and doesn't when you stop. Often if you sweat a lot, you will find it roll down and collect on your waist line. While there is no way to stop this, I have tucked several paper towels from the washroom and tucked it by my low abs and buttoned up. It does the trick!
6) Light 'em up! The most important thing you can do when you ride to enhance your safety is to be as visible as possible. Get a good set of lights for your bike. In a pinch, you can buy them at department store, but I suggest going to a bike shop. Honestly, the cheapest ones both of them sell will cost you at best a buck more at the bike shop and will be half the size and twice as bright. And, most of them will have batteries included, so it is probably cheaper. They will also have a better selection. Get the best thing you can afford. Your life is worth the five extra bucks to get something brighter. Also, wear bright clothing. Those yellow jackets do wonders. Cars will appreciate you for doing this.
7) Okay, this is good info. Anything else? Sure thing. If possible, leave your work shoes at work. Sometimes people have special clipless pedals and already do this, but you will thank yourself if it starts to rain or of you have to wear dress shoes. Also, search the web for the town you live and see if there is a bike commuting page. I was surprised to see that Billings, MT had one complete with tips and a map with safe routes.
Hopefully, this helps everyone. And, please feel free to ask me any questions.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
A Little About Me And Why I Am Starting This Blog
First off, a little bit about me. I am a (I guess I better admit it) a middle-aged guy living in Portland, OR. I currently work as a social worker at a psychiatric hospital and have worked in this field for over ten years. I am originally from Billings, MT and moved to wonderful Portland about 5 years ago and love it. Like everything else, it has its good and not so good points. What I do like is the city itself is friendly for the 13th largest metropolitan area and I do like the weather here. Now, you may be scratching your head at that considering all the clouds and rain, but I am not a fan of extreme hot or cold. And, thankfully Portland gets very little of that.
I also like how the city is friendly towards bicycling. Now, there are those that live here that really don't like the fact that I ride a lot and feel cyclist in general are a bunch of hipster, scofflaw types that do not think the same rules of the road apply to them. But, the truth is, there are a handful of people this this. The large majority of the cyclists in this town really do follow the rules and ride with skill.
Cycling is something that has always been part of my life, although I did have long spells where my bike sat idle with flat tires for years. When I was a kid, I raced BMX and rode just about everywhere. To the mall, to school, to the store to get grocery's for my Mother. However, when I turned the driving age and got my first car, I quit biking. Maybe I thought that if I rode a bike, that would give people the idea that I do not (gasp!!!) have a driver's license. I remember taking my birthday money when I turned 21 and bought a used mountain bike. I rode it around a bit, but not very much.
That changed after I spent a year in Portland. I was back in Billings for my sister's wedding reception and decided it was time to get the thing in motion again. I took the wheel off and shoved it in the back of my car. The year before, I had underwent back surgery to repair a herniated (L4, L5) disk in my back. I could not work out like I used to and was attending grad school so did not really have the funds to do it. While the surgery was successful, I did have a few lingering things. My left quad had a constant buzzing sensation. It didn't hurt, but it was not all the comfortable and certainly was annoying. I also felt week in the low back where the surgeon had to go through the muscle. But, after a few weeks in the saddle, I noticed this go away and when I moved closer to town, bicycling started to become a little more of a mode of transportation that simply a form of exercise.
Sure, the rain here has often put me in the car more. It took me a while to get some fenders and rain gear. But, slowly I am becoming more and more of a full time cyclist.
I decision to title this blog The Mindful Cyclist came from my professional career. Two years ago, I took a position working as a Dialectical Behavior Therapy clinician. While I will not go into the complexities of DBT, one of the things that it talks about is mindfulness. It is a therapy that stresses being mindful and doing one thing at a time and putting your focus on this. One of the things we ask clients to identify is an activity that they feel they can be very mindful doing as a way to unwind and clear the mind. This was example. When I ride, I am focused on one thing. I don't think about other things because if I did, I would increase the chance that I would end up on the hood of a car.
I focus on the noise around me. I look at the rear view mirror of each car before I pass it to make sure no one is in it and about ready to open the car door in front of me. I focus on the road so I can avoid (or brace myself) for the oncoming potholes. I focus on my breathing to increase my efficiency. I check to see if I am spinning my pedals or if I am mashing on them. I am not thinking about work. I am not thinking about dinner. I am not thinking about much of anything else.
While I probably will focus a lot about cycling on this blog, I am certainly going to talk about other things. I will talk about careers, politics, and many other things. I do get some questions from friends on Facebook about bike related stuff, and I will often try to write blogs about bike commuting, repair, and culture.
I also like how the city is friendly towards bicycling. Now, there are those that live here that really don't like the fact that I ride a lot and feel cyclist in general are a bunch of hipster, scofflaw types that do not think the same rules of the road apply to them. But, the truth is, there are a handful of people this this. The large majority of the cyclists in this town really do follow the rules and ride with skill.
Cycling is something that has always been part of my life, although I did have long spells where my bike sat idle with flat tires for years. When I was a kid, I raced BMX and rode just about everywhere. To the mall, to school, to the store to get grocery's for my Mother. However, when I turned the driving age and got my first car, I quit biking. Maybe I thought that if I rode a bike, that would give people the idea that I do not (gasp!!!) have a driver's license. I remember taking my birthday money when I turned 21 and bought a used mountain bike. I rode it around a bit, but not very much.
That changed after I spent a year in Portland. I was back in Billings for my sister's wedding reception and decided it was time to get the thing in motion again. I took the wheel off and shoved it in the back of my car. The year before, I had underwent back surgery to repair a herniated (L4, L5) disk in my back. I could not work out like I used to and was attending grad school so did not really have the funds to do it. While the surgery was successful, I did have a few lingering things. My left quad had a constant buzzing sensation. It didn't hurt, but it was not all the comfortable and certainly was annoying. I also felt week in the low back where the surgeon had to go through the muscle. But, after a few weeks in the saddle, I noticed this go away and when I moved closer to town, bicycling started to become a little more of a mode of transportation that simply a form of exercise.
Sure, the rain here has often put me in the car more. It took me a while to get some fenders and rain gear. But, slowly I am becoming more and more of a full time cyclist.
I decision to title this blog The Mindful Cyclist came from my professional career. Two years ago, I took a position working as a Dialectical Behavior Therapy clinician. While I will not go into the complexities of DBT, one of the things that it talks about is mindfulness. It is a therapy that stresses being mindful and doing one thing at a time and putting your focus on this. One of the things we ask clients to identify is an activity that they feel they can be very mindful doing as a way to unwind and clear the mind. This was example. When I ride, I am focused on one thing. I don't think about other things because if I did, I would increase the chance that I would end up on the hood of a car.
I focus on the noise around me. I look at the rear view mirror of each car before I pass it to make sure no one is in it and about ready to open the car door in front of me. I focus on the road so I can avoid (or brace myself) for the oncoming potholes. I focus on my breathing to increase my efficiency. I check to see if I am spinning my pedals or if I am mashing on them. I am not thinking about work. I am not thinking about dinner. I am not thinking about much of anything else.
While I probably will focus a lot about cycling on this blog, I am certainly going to talk about other things. I will talk about careers, politics, and many other things. I do get some questions from friends on Facebook about bike related stuff, and I will often try to write blogs about bike commuting, repair, and culture.
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