Never thought I'd say this...

[RoseC]

but I'm really thinking about trying to commute by bike a few days a week. We have a shower there, and I'm sure I could tuck my bike away in a corner, so it wouldn't be in danger.

Until I got the Volpe, I didn't think I could do the kind of distance it would involve. I'm not certain, but I *think* it'll be between 13 and 15 miles, with one huge hill on the way there. So far the longest ride I've done was just over twenty, so I'm not sure I could handle fifteen twice a day, but if I work up to it...and with the workday as a break...well...hm. It's not as impossible as I thought it might be.

However, I'm really scared of riding on the roads. I'd have wide shoulder for the first third, a bike lane beside a very busy highway for about the second third (eek!), and a multi-use sort of a trail for almost the whole of the last section. There are a few places where I'd have to make a left hand turn, and I'm thinking the easiest thing would be to just turn pedestrian at those spots and use the crosswalks.

I think I may make a dry run of the scary portion this weekend - that'd be the part on the roads, both on the shoulder and in the bike lane. My heart is in my mouth just thinking about it. It's not really logical, I suppose... But while I know that if I fall on the trail, at the worst I might break bones, on the road, it could easily be much worse. That terrifies me. Do you ever get over that fear?

[Trek420]

Yes and no I'd say I have a healthy respect for the dangers involved, I'm aware of the risks each time I ride. There's a moment before any ride that I might think "ok, pay attention. This is dangerous but you love it! Just focus"

But I could walk outside right now and get hit on the head by a piano that falls out of a plane

On a new commute I'd do a dry run a time or two.

Pick a weekend or day you could be late for work. How long does it really take you? Would you have time to fix a flat? Where would you stop if you just haaaaave to have a cookie or want one as a reward for the hill? Is there a frontage road you could take instead of that 2nd bit? Do you have cell network throughout? If that left turn is a bad one can you over shoot it and take two rights? Two wrongs don't make a right but sometimes three rights make a left?

It took me almost a year of trial runs and weekend explorations before I found my TWO MILE route to the train.

Bounded on three sides by freeway it's no wonder nobody around here rides. Those who do take the most dangerous route. But part of that's because the two bike/pedestrian only overpasses we actually have....are not signed. So it was by accident that I found a safer way.

[mimitabby]

I am a fearful rider myself. During the winter the fear grows because i'm not riding. Now it's really getting easier. I hop on my bike almost every day and commute. I am not losing any sleep over it or fussing about it before i do it!


I'd be a fool NOT to be scared, there are plenty of cars out there and not all the drivers are happy to see me in THEIR road. But i keep going. when they honk their horn at me, I wave like we're best friends. The one time recently that someone menaced me with his vehicle, I surprised myself. Instead of getting scared, I got MAD!
But that fear is truly a healthy respect for what can be a dangerous situation.

Check out your commute, be careful, alert, have fun! Since you live in Western Washington, you might talk to some of us from the same area about the best roads for commuting. good luck

[RoseC]

Check out your commute, be careful, alert, have fun! Since you live in Western Washington, you might talk to some of us from the same area about the best roads for commuting. good luck

I think I'm further south than any of the other Washington folks - I'm down in Thurston county...Olympia area. I did pick up a Thurston County map...it's how I figured out my planned route. It's a bit out of date, I think, as there are new paths going in all the time.

Unfortunately, the only *direct* route from where I live to where I work is the Interstate. *sigh*

[Torrilin]

If you can find any route that lets you dodge the interstate, do so. In most of the US interstates have a minimum speed of 45 mph, and you can be ticketed for going below the minimum speed. Interstate shoulders also tend to be pretty dangerous, since they don't get cleaned the way a surface street does.

How indirect are the indirect routes? I've lived in places where the only way to cross major rivers was an interstate... that could put a real cramp in your commute.

[RoseC]

If you can find any route that lets you dodge the interstate, do so. In most of the US interstates have a minimum speed of 45 mph, and you can be ticketed for going below the minimum speed. Interstate shoulders also tend to be pretty dangerous, since they don't get cleaned the way a surface street does.

How indirect are the indirect routes? I've lived in places where the only way to cross major rivers was an interstate... that could put a real cramp in your commute.

Oh, I didn't mean that I'd be riding on the interstate! Just that it's the most direct route. In the car, my commute is 11 miles.

The indirect one is the one that uses a) a nice wide shoulder on a fairly busy road, but one with mostly a speed limit of 35, b) a bike lane along a busy highway (that's the part I'm most concerned about), and c) the multiuse path.

[KnottedYet]

Can you take a bus (with bike on the front rack) in to work, and ride home? I'm looking at doing that for my new commute. (15 miles. Previous commute: 4 miles.)

Depending on the part of WA you are in, you might be able to get a bicycle map which shows high and low traffic roads, bike lanes, and bike trails. (I have both the King Co and Snohomish Co maps. They are very useful!)

A local bike club (if you are here in the Seattle area, check into Cascade; in Bellingham check into Mt. Baker) might have a commuter class, where they teach you basic skills and laws, and let you practice how to put the bike on a bus, and help you figure out a safe route. Cascade's class also gives you a $50 certificate if you live or work in Seattle proper.

[mimitabby]

Cascade's class also gives you a $50 certificate if you live or work in Seattle proper.

a $50 certificate for what, Knot?

[KnottedYet]

I dunno, it just says $50 on the website.

I'm guessing for a bus pass.

Anybody know what it's for?

[RoseC]

Pick a weekend or day you could be late for work. How long does it really take you? Would you have time to fix a flat? Where would you stop if you just haaaaave to have a cookie or want one as a reward for the hill? Is there a frontage road you could take instead of that 2nd bit? Do you have cell network throughout? If that left turn is a bad one can you over shoot it and take two rights? Two wrongs don't make a right but sometimes three rights make a left?

All good questions for me to find answers to!

I timed myself on the trail the other day, figuring that the sort of obstacles I meet on the trail (people and dogs and kids out walking, road crossings, etc.) should bring my average down in about the same way as the crosswalks and such would on the road. I came out with about a 12.5 mph average. I'm slow, I know it! But I figure with that average, I could give myself about an hour and forty-five minutes to get there, and have enough time to at least swap tubes if I had a flat.

There's no real way to avoid that stretch along the highway, I don't think. Wish there was a path the whole way!

[Cyclo Kitty]

Your plan to ride the scary part this weekend is a good one. Practice is always good! I'm sure you'll quickly gain the distance...you can always commute on alternate days to start with.

My commute is not as intense as yours sounds, though traffic here is pretty *special*. You do become accustomed to the context in which you are riding, and your instincts and intuition are honed by experience. I think you will find that it does get easier, and riding the route on weekends to start getting used to it should help. The route of commute is also the route to a couple of longer rides, half way to the grocery, and the way to day care so I got to practice it a lot-- which helped me gain confidence and recognize road obstacles.

Over time, you'll become confident around vehicles, and learn to anticipate their moves. Somedays, you just won't be aces on the bike...or you'll be hungry, and not clip in properly or wobble to start, but because you've ridden and ridden that route, you know how to safely cross the intersection without even thinking about it.

Left turns become easier with time; some of the drivers let me take the lane when I signal and even yield when they should!! Others pass me on the left...or turn right and try to make me ride to their left. Look drivers in the eye whenever you can, it does seem to help. Crossing like a pedestrian is fine, but remember that bikes are hard to see anywhere.

The commute (for me anyway) becomes second nature, like breathing. As long as you're familiar with the route and stay alert, it'll soon seem natural to ride those scary places. Will scary things happen? Yes. But you will also learn from them and be a better rider, and probably not be hurt if you pay attention, use consistent behaviour when riding, wear a helmet and visible clothing, and use a headlight and blinkies at dusk.

I'm sure you can do it!

[onimity]

Congratulations on deciding to commute. Your post sounds exactly like me a couple of months back. I took it in steps, started riding the bus to work with my bike and then riding (10-12 miles) home. When we have a particularly bad hail or lightning storm I'll take the bus back but I'm always seriously bummed when that happens (though it still means riding 3 miles or so). I used to think that the interstate was the most direct way to work and my initial commute was longer by bike. Since then I've been able to shave off a couple of miles by following little previously-unknown roads, or little paths that connect things more efficiently. I can bypass a huge tangle of roads in the business park between the interstate and our office so I think my commute is actually shorter now.

I tend to meander home and often follow other bikes when they turn somewhere that seems to be going in the same direction I'd like to. Sometimes I turn around but sometimes I learn a cool new little road or path. The other bikes always know the best routes. I also commute on my mountain bike (with a rack, it's terribly loud!) so that I can take some fun trails that just happen to parallel the road when I am not in a hurry.

So, do you ever get over the fear? Well, if you're doing it right, no. Cars can easily kill you and it's dangerous not to be afraid of them. But it is also dangerous to be afraid to the point that you are shaky or not making good decisions, so I think that you are doing the right thing by practicing on your route and getting familiar with the timing before you try it 'for real'. I also have started running almost all of my errands on my bike. City traffic and having to cross lanes have helped me with my confidence in traffic.

As for crossing like a pedestrian, I think it's easier for cars to see you if you act like any other vehicle, but sometimes I have to use pedestrian crossings in places where I want to go through a red light that I can't trigger with my bike or where I'd have to cut through 5 lanes of heavy traffic + construction in less than 50 feet! If you use pedestrian crossings be very careful of people turning right on red lights. Make sure that they see you and that they aren't turning before you cross. If you are like me your confidence in turning left in the standard lanes will improve as you become more familiar with your commute.

In the last week we have had a lot of afternoon thunderstorms predicted so I have started riding in the morning to be sure that I get the ride in. Of course I usually get to ride home too. But having the bus as a backup for dangerous conditions is a good way to get me out the door with the bike. I haven't driven to work in over 2 months. Commuting by bike I leave the house feeling like I'm going on a bike ride and when I walk out the door of the office I am off work; I don't have to wait for half an hour in a metal box on a congested freeway until I am finally free. I hope that it will be as positive an experience for you as it is for me.

Anyhow, hope that is of some help. Good luck with the commute and most importantly enjoy it!

Anne