I did it!

[Heifzilla]

I commuted to work today!

I posted before about the routes I have to work with and so today I wanted to at least ride part of the way to work on the busier one to see how it was. I had DH drop me 5 miles away from work and I biked in. It wasn't too bad, though there was one hill going that way that I was really not happy with and left me pretty out of breath. Once at work I wiped down with some babywipes, fluffed my hair, and changed into my scrubs. My hair never did look great today but, eh, I'm a vet tech, who am I trying to impress? :)

The deal was that when I got off work (if I get off on time it is pretty much dusk at that point) I was going to see what time it was and either have DH pick me up at work if it was too dark (I need better lights, some more blinkies, a vest) otherwise I was going to meet him where he'd dropped me that afternoon. I got out of work right when we closed and started off. It was bright enough so that I had no issues seeing, and I had my headlight on blink, as well as my tail light. I also had on my obnoxiously construction-yellow windbreaker. My black messenger bag was around my shoulders (and what a pain in the tuchus *that* was...I need me some panniers or a rack with a trunk). I think I was pretty visible, though I still want to really get some relfective tape, more blinkies, and a better headlight. I figure that looking like a lit up christmas tree is the way to go.

So when I got to the meeting spot, I thought, "Hmm, well, I'll ride to the bridge and then wait for him there." Once I got to the bridge, I rested for a bit, drank some water, and took a couple of pics with my cellphone. And then figured, "Eh, I'm not that tired and I can still see where I am going." So I kept going. Eventually I was already so close to home that it just seemed dumb to call him to pick me up. I took a shortcut through this field that a lot of ATVs use (yay for my 26x1.95 tires and monster bike frame) and amusingly enough, DH saw my tail blinky from half a mile away and rode up the road I was on but I had already cut through the field and was in the subdivision across from ours. I called him when I got into that subdivision to tell him I was almost home, and he told me he had been out running errands and waiting for my call, and had seen me. He was pretty impressed at how far he could see the blinky.

Anyway, I am so happy I did it. My ride was a little over 11 miles from work to my front door and while I'm pooped, I'm also psyched about it. The hills (inclines :rolleyes: ) weren't too bad, though there are two spots where I really was huffing and puffing and probably going about 8 miles an hour in my granny gear, LOL. But I managed.

Here's the sunset over Grass Lake from my commute tonight. When driving you just don't get to appreciate this kind of thing.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/3544804868_a1b9b7b5a1.jpg

[shootingstar]

Anyway, I am so happy I did it. My ride was a little over 11 miles from work to my front door and while I'm pooped, I'm also psyched about it. The hills (inclines :rolleyes: ) weren't too bad, though there are two spots where I really was huffing and puffing and probably going about 8 miles an hour in my granny gear, LOL. But I managed.

You will fly over that hill soon. Just wait and see. Congrats!

[PamNY]

Congratulations! Lovely sunset. I've found consistent practice really works to conquer hills. I'm happy for you and would love to hear more about your adventures in commuting.

Pam

[OakLeaf]

Yay! Way to conquer those fears! :D

[Becky]

Good job! Before you know it, you'll be a seasoned bike commuter :)

[7rider]

When driving you just don't get to appreciate this kind of thing.


Isn't THAT the truth??? :D

Congratulations! Awesome job.

[Pax]

Way. to. go!!!!

[Biciclista]

yay!! fantastic!!! I am so proud of you. Now how many states did you ride through? :D

[bikerHen]

Don't beat yourself up for doing 8mph going up hill. If I can stay above 6mph on my "inclines" to work it's a good ride. On one short but steep (9% grade) little bugger my goal is to keep enough foward motion to not fall over. :eek: And, I'm of the opinion one can never have too many blinkie lights. :D bikerHen

[ny biker]

Good for you!

I routinely drop to 4 or 5 mph going up some hills. As long as you reach the top, who cares? And you will get faster, and it will get easier.

[Melalvai]

That's a beautiful sunset. I second what ny biker said about hills. I've been commuting the same roads for about three years. The Hill got a lot easier...when I got a 23-tooth granny gear. Now I can spin up it at 3 or 4 mph. Instead of "beating" The Hill, I came to accept The Hill! I didn't get faster, I learned not to be ashamed of low gears. It's more about patience than about physical strength or stamina.

There's probably philosophy in there, or maybe not.

[Tri Girl]

Super duper congrats to you on your commute to and fro. :) How cool that you rode all the way home, AND you got to see a killer sunset over the lake- you'd have been bummed to miss that driving in a car. Kudos to you!!!

[newfsmith]

Yeah! So glad you did it. Vet teching is the perfect job for bike commuting.
Have fun!

[Jones]

I wanted to add my congratulations to the list, I love bike commuting. 8mph on a hill isn't bad I have seen my odometer at 2.2mph before.

[Heifzilla]

Thanks, everyone :) Unfortunately, since DH is out of town (I have kids I need to pick up at the sitters after work, etc.) I won't be doing another commute this week, but I plan on it next week.

I picked up a set of Lightweights last night and decorated my bike a bit and I found a $30 gift certificate for a LBS that I had gotten two years ago for Xmas, stuffed it in a drawer and forgotten about :D so I was also able to pick up a rear rack. I looked at the lbs around here for a safety vest and found one at Performance Bike but they only had a size XS, which I guess I could have wrapped around my arm or something, but figured I'd order one that I could actually wear instead :D:D My next purchases are going to be a helmet light (I am leaning towards a NiteRider Minewt X2 or a Cygolite Hi Flux II LED), but I need to save up for it, and also a red blinkie for my helmet as well. Also, for the time being, I plan on bungy-ing my bag to the rack until I can get some panniers or a trunk bag.

Here's the new rack and the back wheel with the Lightweights. They really pop when the light hits them. And tedious to put on, but I like the result.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3602/3546962755_e75343ee9b.jpg

[Biciclista]

those lightweights are cool. are they just reflective?

[Reesha]

Congratulations! Welcome to the world of bike commuting!!! :cool:

I highly recommend Chrome messenger bags if you need extra carrying capacity. I have one that's obnoxiously orange and I love it love it love it!!! I'm pretty sure it would survive a nuclear holocaust, a hurricane and it doesn't inch around on my back. It stays put!

[7rider]

Here's the new rack and the back wheel with the Lightweights. They really pop when the light hits them. And tedious to put on, but I like the result.


I have a set of those, but I never put them on. :o I was intimidated by the instructions! They look like a real p.i.a. to put on. Were they???

BTW...don't sweat it....you can't be expected to ride all the time.

[Becky]

those lightweights are cool. are they just reflective?

Yep, they're little bits of reflective tape that you "roll" onto the spokes. Very easy to apply, and bright. DH and I have them on the commuters.

Heifzilla, here's a big thumbs up for the NiteRider Minewt! Mine's bar-mounted, but I really really like it and NR's customer service has been very good too.

ETA: The Lightweights took a little figuring out at first. I found that they worked best if you pulled one off the card, stuck the very edge to the spoke, and "buffed" it with my fingernail until the tape started to separate from the paper covering. Once that happens, they can be rolled onto the spoke using the paper as a little tab to push. Hope that makes sense- it's easier to show!

[Heifzilla]

Yep, they're little bits of reflective tape that you "roll" onto the spokes. Very easy to apply, and bright. DH and I have them on the commuters.

Heifzilla, here's a big thumbs up for the NiteRider Minewt! Mine's bar-mounted, but I really really like it and NR's customer service has been very good too.

ETA: The Lightweights took a little figuring out at first. I found that they worked best if you pulled one off the card, stuck the very edge to the spoke, and "buffed" it with my fingernail until the tape started to separate from the paper covering. Once that happens, they can be rolled onto the spoke using the paper as a little tab to push. Hope that makes sense- it's easier to show!


Awesome on the Minewt. There are so many choices, but I keep coming back to those two.

And yeah, the Lightweights took a little figuring out. Just totally ignore their little application guide that the instructions tell you to use for placement. I found that to be more of a hindrance than anything. I left the wheels on and sat on the floor. After peeling the sticker off the card, I placed it behind the spoke so the sticky side was facing me. Then I pushed it against the spoke, sticky side still facing me, so there was a small amount of the sticker (2mm max) to one side of the spoke, and the rest of the sticker to the other side of the spoke. I then wrapped the smaller side of ths sticker towards me, which wrapped it around the spoke. Then I rubbed that smaller side to make sure the thing was adhered to the spoke and then used my nail to start peeling the backing off that side of the sticker. Before getting too far peeling off the backing, I then started to wrap the longer side of the sticker towards me around the spoke (so the longer side ends up wrapped over the shorter side but only after the backing paper was off that shorter side that was now adhereing to the spoke), and the backing usually would start to peel off the rest of the sticker at that point. I took me three stickers to figure it out, but once I did it was totally easy, though tedious. My directions make it seem so complicated, but it's not :)

Good luck! I really think they will make a huge difference in being seen.

[Becky]

+1 on the tedious part! I put my Lightweights on the wheels while watching TV and with a cold beer nearby :D

[Heifzilla]

Congratulations! Welcome to the world of bike commuting!!! :cool:

I highly recommend Chrome messenger bags if you need extra carrying capacity. I have one that's obnoxiously orange and I love it love it love it!!! I'm pretty sure it would survive a nuclear holocaust, a hurricane and it doesn't inch around on my back. It stays put!

Thanks for the rec. I have a messenger bag but it's not really one that should be used for biking, it's more of a shoulder bag :rolleyes: I did use it, but I had to constantly readjust it, which was really annoying after awhile, and it was always pulling on my neck and shoulder. It's really squishy, though, so I figure I can just lash it to the rack next time. But I will check out the Chrome bags. I know some people also swear by the Timbuk2 bags as well.

[Reesha]

I've never actually worn a Timbuk2 so I can't speak for them but the Chrome Citizen 2 is what I have. It's got this second strap that goes under your left arm to stabilize the bag on your back, reflective clip straps. Also, lots of fun colors and patterns! I have a day-glow orange one for visibility 8') The price may seem steep, but it's worth every penny. I could leave my laptop inside it during a downpour with confidence that my laptop would still be dry when I got home.

http://www.chromebagsstore.com/messenger-bags-citizen.html

Also, yesterday I saw a Salsa Casseroll with full fenders and a sweet rack set up and I salivated.

Eventually, I should get some of the weight off my back. I find that if I ride 30+ miles that day, my shoulders really feel strained from carrying stuff on my back and the aggressive set up of my road bike.

[kfergos]

It's really squishy, though, so I figure I can just lash it to the rack next time. But I will check out the Chrome bags. I know some people also swear by the Timbuk2 bags as well.1. Really squishy - I don't know if you bring bananas with you, but when I was bungeeing my bag to a rack, my bananas came out with bungee-shaped squish marks. Of course, there's always the banana guard (http://www.bananaguard.com/#), but instead of shocking my coworkers, I switched to...
2. A Timbuk2 messenger bag, which doesn't slip around at all because it has a cross-strap that holds it in place. My bananas still get squished sometimes, but not always as badly. I think they should make commuter bags with padded banana-shaped pockets. Bananas aside, here's how the Timbuk2 bag works: click this link (http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/cms/popup/howToWear.htm). I like the waterproofness of it and that I can fit an enormous amount of stuff in the medium-sized bag, but that it feels pretty comfy with just a little stuff, too. It has a bunch of smaller pockets all through the inside. And of course you can custom-build your own with the fabric colors you want, which is pretty hard to beat.

PS - Props on the commuting! Watch out though; it's a seriously addictive activity.

[Cataboo]

My bf says I ride my bike tilted sideways when I ride with my timbuk2 bag on my back.

I prefer a backpack.

[tulip]

I prefer to carry the weight on my bike as opposed to my back and shoulders. There's nothing wrong with bungie cords. I use them all the time.

[shootingstar]

I've been cycling with panniers ever since I returned to cycling regularily..um 17 yrs. ago. :) I love the reality that I can ride with way more weight in total in panniers vs. feeling extra weight on my back...yet the extra weight in pannier feels a whole lot lighter compared to having it on my back.

My whole body frame is small and short, including my back width is narrow . So messenger bags just get in the way and pull at my shoulders/back.

I also have slight scoliosis in my posture, a slight S curve when looking at the back spine of me, where my 1 shoulder is not level with my other shoulder.

The last thing I want to do is to accentuate my overall body posture problem. by riding several hrs. with heavy weight on my back. Already my partner tells me I seem to ride slightly off kilter (in posture) at times..it's when I'm exerting extra effort.

[Photoflygirl]

Congrats on the ride!! That is what I am working toward. I totally plan to buy a rack and a nice trunk bag w/sides that fold out into panniers. That is my treat to myself when I get fit enough that I can ride to work.

[Heifzilla]

I ended up choosing a Dinotte 200L with the AA batteries. Dinotte is having a sale on the light and a helmet mount (no batteries or charger...which I already have anyway) for $109. Pretty good price, methinks. I ordered direct from Dinotte.

I can't wait to get it.

Also, I found this nifty thread on the mountain bike forums: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=3910670

If you are handy with that kind of thing (or you know someone that is), you can make your own lights. DH is an electrical engineer and he wants to try making one, so that should be interesting :D

[tulip]

Congratulations, Heifzilla! It didn't take you long to make it happen! You rock!

[Heifzilla]

Congratulations, Heifzilla! It didn't take you long to make it happen! You rock!

Thanks :D I really wanted to do this, so I just did it :) Tomorrow I work the 8-4 shift and I am driving in with the bike in the truck and going to ride my bike home, woot! I don't work this shift often so I figured I'd take advantage of the daylight hours.