Starting the whole commute to work thing...

[Tri Girl]

Good luck on your commute this week! I'm sure with your enthusiasm you'll do just fine. It's all "up top" (mental) anyway, huh?

We're glad you decided to post. Men are welcome- so long as you don't mind being surrounded by a bunch of really great women (yeah, because most men just hate that ). This is a great group- very supportive and helpful. I think you'll like it here.

I've used various mirrors, but have recently decided on one that I just LOVE. It's the one that CA_in_NC suggested. If you have more than one helmet, you can just buy the little piece that sticks to the helmet and move the mirror from one to the other. I've used the Take a Look and others that fixed to your glasses, but the extra bulk on my glasses bothered me. This one is very movable (easy to adjust when I put the helmet on), and gives me a good field of view. Of course, you'll just have to buy one and try it for yourself to see what works best for you.

Unfortunately, we have very few bridges here (the ones we do have are concrete roadway), so no advice to give here. Just be careful of tire eating gaps. I went down on the road HARD one time when a gap caught my tire and threw me off the bike. Ouch!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I like the Third Eye helmet mirrors. I attach them to my helmets, not to my glasses, and they have been wonderful.
Helmet mirrors take a week or two to get used to- them seem very odd at first but then you can get to love them. Unfortunately, lots of folks try them for a day and then toss them.
I wouldn't ride without one now, it'd be like driving a car without a rear view mirror. Sure I do a quick check with my head too, just like driving a car....but the mirror has made me safer on many occasions.

[obie]

Just posting to say welcome, and I hope your first commute went well! I'd recommend also one of the road biking classes out there - I know Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is a good one and I bet they have great offerings. I say this because some of the techniques that are the safest for riding in the roads aren't immediately obvious. Everyone I know who's taken one of these courses has really gotten a lot out of it.

[rhyme]

Sadly, I didn't make it out this morning.... I somehow overslept - something I never do!

Maybe it was for the best though - Gave me an opportunity to drive the route I had planned and realize that there are some spots I'd probably be better off going around.

Tomorrow it is.... (please let it stop raining)

[mimitabby]

not fun to start your commuting on a rainy day!
take it slow, practice when you're not in a hurry.
remember, some alternate routes might be a bit longer, but they might also be safer and more relaxing, therefore worth it.