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.

[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!

[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

[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!

[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.

[northstar]

Try it, you'll like it!

I started commuting *home* from work first. I carpooled in with a friend, loaded the bike, then rode it home from work. That worked fine. I did have to negotiate some busier roads, but it was no problem.

Then, on bike to work day, I rode both to and from work. Now I'm hooked on riding in the morning! I discovered that when I leave bright and early to go to work (ok, it's really early...5:30...but I have 17 miles to go), there is NO traffic on those roads. I get to listen to the birds and enjoy the morning.

And with the left turns...do what you need to do! I still have to do that to feel comfortable sometimes. The more I've ridden, the more comfortable I've gotten with taking the lane to make left turns instead of hopping off the road to walk the crosswalks.

[RoseC]

Well...I never ended up checking out the route this weekend! I did a 30 mile ride on the trail on Saturday, which was a personal best for me, but it meant I didn't feel like riding a long way Sunday, and today the Volpe (who tells me her name is Edwina, though I don't particularly care for the name) went back to the bike shop for some narrower handlebars - I set up an appointment the day I bought her. Got Salsa Short and Shallows, which I LOVE so far.

I also decided to try out a Terry Liberator X, since I'm still not sold on the B-17. I should never have taken the Liberator out of the shop. It seemed like a good idea at first, but after ten miles, I hate hate hate hate hate it. The part where the nose meets the back is wide enough to hurt, and the cut out does nothing for me. Not to mention I found myself missing the smoothness of the leather. I'm thinking I either need to give the B-17 more time (it has about a hundred and fifty miles on it so far), or I need something wider in the back but still narrow in the nose. I went to take the Terry back right away, but the shop closed early for the holiday, so I'm stuck with it until tomorrow. I don't even wanna look at it, though...ugh.

All of which has nothing to do with commuting...

[KnottedYet]

It all has everything to do with commuting!

If the B17 feels like it might be too narrow, would you be willing to try a B68? LisaSH just switched from a B17 to a B68, and loves it. I have a B67 (and another ordered so each bike will have one). The B67 is the same saddle, but with springs. Very narrow nose, abrupt change to the wide part. "T" shaped rather than "pear" shaped.

The leather is pebbled rather than smooth, so it's not quite as slippery as the B17, but it isn't rough either.

Bike names - maybe "Edwina" is her middle name. See what comes up for her first name or her nickname. (My Surly's name literally came to me in my sleep: Carmelita. That's her middle name. Her first name is Crow, or whatever language for Crow strikes my fancy at the time.)

I have Salsa Short-n-Shallows, too. Very nice bars!

[RoseC]

If the B17 feels like it might be too narrow, would you be willing to try a B68?

I suppose so...though after my experience with the Terry, I'm wondering if it's really too narrow. I mean...isn't the Terry pretty wide? And it still felt like my sitbones were gonna fall off. I'm thinking I'm maybe just analyzing the whole feel too much. I do know for a FACT that the thing hurt like anything, though!

The semi T shape of the B68 really has me wondering, though, because the part of the Terry that bothered me most was the intersection between nose and seat. Too wide.

I'm cringing a little at the cost of the other Brooks, but I'll at least keep it in mind. I think I need to give the B-17 a bit more time, maybe. I didn't realize how comfy it feels to me now until I tried something else!