I'm ready to take the plunge ... give me a push

[mountainchick]

yea for you! i commute home 2-3 days a week now (when the weather is good...its rainy this week, boooo!). my commute is around 35miles one way. and for me, after sitting all day i feel amazing when i can jump on my bike to leave.

i commute on city roads all the way, and lets just say drivers in japan aren't the best in the world for a few reasons:

1. they don't signal until they are entering the turn...excellent, because i didn't want to know they were turning before i had to slam on my breaks before hitting that truck
2. they are allowed to park on the shoulder pretty much anywhere they want as long as they have their hazards on and they are sitting in the car. splendid. its fun coming around a blind curve and finding a car parked where you should be and trucks coming down on you on the right.
3. they don't pay attention. ever. for some reason they are in their own little world...i've only noticed that here (and i've traveled to other places in asia-pacific and europe).

but they are better than the americans that drive here as far as making way for bikes, so i'll give them that.

but anyway...good luck to you!! thats awesome!!!

[bmccasland]

Like OfftheGrid, I'm thinking of taking the plunge... OK, that and the rising gas prices.
I've mapped the 7.5 mile (12 km) route, and only a short part of it is on the levee bike path. Part is on a neighborhood street that's a minor thoroughfair (but technically low speed limit), and the ugly part is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) on a very busy major thoroughfair. In the mornings, if I left the house around 6:15, the 1.5 miles is very queit, but the afternoons I'd be risking life and limb. It does have a sidewalk, which is sometimes obstructed by folk's garbage or vehicles.

My question(s) - do you plot longer alternative routes? Ride on the sidewalks? Not all sidewalks have ramps where they meet the street, but rather have square edges - a hard bounce down and getting off and lifting up the bike to up the next side.

I had bought a Breezer 3-speed, tricked out with paniers with the notion to bike-commute a couple of days a week, and did so after the hurricane. But as folks returned and the 1.5 miles returned to the very busy status, I chickened out. Now I'm thinking about it again.

[Kimmyt]

bmc, 7.5 miles isn't such a long route, so maybe you could consider on your afternoon ride making it longer and taking a bit of a detour to get past the scary section?

As for your question regarding sidewalks, there are parts of my commute when I use them, because the traffic is just too dangerous otherwise (and there's ABSOLUTELY no shoulder for me). Just use your head, and remember that riding on the sidewalk carries its own responsibility, such as being aware of peds (THEY have the right of way, here) and being very careful when crossing streets on sidewalks, as cars will not see you as they would on the street.

As you get more comfortable riding on the roads, you may find that the 1.5 miles isn't as bad as you initially thought, as long as you make sure you are ALWAYS vigilant and hyper-aware of everything that's going on. Which may be tough after a long day at work.

However, I think you should definitely try the commute out, at least once!!

K.