What do you wish existed for your commute?

[obie]

If I can't have less glass on the roads, then I'd like an insta-sweep vacuum-hose of some sort that can suck it away.

Radiant heating for roadways to remove possibilities of black ice.

[Dianyla]

I'd like a good night's sleep, every night, and the ability to wake up early enough to commute without feeling trashed.

[jsdilks]

Observations from my short time commuting:
1. more bikers who follow the Rules of the Road and don't put themselves or others in danger and give the rest of us a bad name
2. bikers with manners (a theme here??)
3. a way to shave some time off the time I spend in the small locker room where I go to shower and dress for the day - I've been trying and I just can't get any minutes off there (unload the bag, arrange things, get to the shower, take my shower, dry off, get dressed, dry my hair, put on my face [which is only moisturizer and eye stuff...])
4. an easy steamer to take wrinkles out of my clothes that have been smashed into my bag
5. a way to get lunch to work too - right now it's clothes or food, but not both. The panniers are crammed to the gills since there are two of us.

I've enjoyed reading through all your thoughts - great ideas, and some, well, other ones...

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I would like that glass blower too. What is with all the glass? And when I ride on a certain road, I hear this tinging noise from hitting something metal, but I never see what I've hit?!

I think I'm investing in a GPS (Garmin Nuvi) so I don't have to figure out what routes to take anymore. There are times I want to go to Target which is way out of the way, and I would do it but not sure how to get there. Being new to the area, I don't know the back roads that well. And getting lost on a bike is not really the way I want to learn them

[Becky]

Observations from my short time commuting:
1. more bikers who follow the Rules of the Road and don't put themselves or others in danger and give the rest of us a bad name
2. bikers with manners (a theme here??)
4. an easy steamer to take wrinkles out of my clothes that have been smashed into my bag

Agreed on 1 and 2! As for 4, here's what I do. To start, I pack my clothes in one of those Eagle Creek Pack-It folders- it makes a huge difference in how wrinkled stuff gets in panniers. When I get to work, I mist my clothes lightly with a plant mister or spray bottle, and hang them in front of a fan to dry. The water relaxes the fabric so the wrinkles fall out, and the fan speeds up the drying. Probably wouldn't work for super-wrinkly stuff or things like linen or some cottons, but for most cottons, blends, etc., it works great.

[Trek420]

The city I live in has recently made a huge effort in cleaning our bike/ped overpass.

I'm sure they're spending thousands of dollars on new lighting newly installed on the overpass and at both ends.

Our regional bike advocacy group has asked them .... no signs.

Nobody knows it's there. So I networked at the pet store with some customers I overheard talking about city council meetings and I think I found the right person to bug, this is what I wrote:


Dear Mr. Beaurocrat,

First I want to express my thanks for the recent cleaning and trimming the shrubs on the bike overpass. It's lovely. Also the lights are a nice idea. I'm sure it will make the area more safe.

But what would really increase safety is .... get some riders and pedestrians on it. In Four years of bike commuting I've seen a grand total of 3 other riders!!!

I'm a long time resident of H 15 years. Four years ago I moved to South H.

As a bike commuter I looked for a safe way to ride to BART which I now do about twice weekly. Maybe I'm a slow learner but it took me almost a year to find the bike/pedestrian freeway overpass off Colaraga. After many experiments and rides, trying different routes I finally spied it .... while driving. Yep, I have a car too.

Imagine my surprise when looking up there it was, like a mirage, an oaisis. We have a bike overpass, one of only two in the Bay area.

We should be proud of this and sign it.

Instead when one rides up West Tennyson towards BART (or anything else that way) as the intersection of W. Tennyson and Colarago there is a tiny sign that says "bike route ends". Same thing on Tennyson heading home at Tampa "bike route ends"

Maybe you ride, if so just ignore me but the average urban cyclist, riders we affectionately call "invisible cyclists", are not riders who do club rides, charity rides, ride for fun and fitness. These men and women ride more miles than I do are just trying to get to work or shopping on the affordable transportation they have, their bike.

Since they are not in a cycling community they don't know that the first tip of safe urban riding is "don't ride the same route you would drive. Think sides streets, off roads, parallel roads ... go where the cars AREN'T. And then obey the traffic laws there".

They know to get from point A to B you take Tennyson and up Tennyson they go. There these (usually not helmeted, they are not wearing bright visible clothing) riders face 4 (four) freeway on and off ramps on each direction.

Also frankly they are tired, hard working folks. This is not a sport to them. For me it was kind of fun, each day exploring the neighborhood encountering dead ends to the bike route but finding "oh, I can get to the Bay Trail this way, and look I can take Colarago to the Eon Cafe and ...." These hard working folks are not going to make a weekend of trying to find a safer route.

We need a sign. A $10.00 sign, instead of "bike route ends" we need "this way to the bike/pedestrian overpass". The funny thing is on both ends if one just turns and rides or walks ..... there it is but not on the main traveled route.

A $10.00 sign on both ends to save lives.

I see women with kids and strollers on that overpass, elderly people on their bikes. Yes, it's legal, yes they can walk on the sidewalk there. Should they? I don't. I've ridden from SF to LA 5 times and I don't.

Let's show them the safe route before we loose a life.

Thanks for your prompt attention

[Ana]

1. Indoor bike locker
2. Paved bicycle path (network), apart from the road
3. People standing on the side of the road holding out bananas, granola bars and orange juice

[lph]

1. Indoor bike locker
2. Paved bicycle path (network), apart from the road
3. People standing on the side of the road holding out bananas, granola bars and orange juice

4. and coffee. And cheering

(I actually have points 1 and 2, so I'm feeling rather spoiled now.)

[jsdilks]

We have the cheering! There is a homeless guy at the corner right where we turn off before we park who gives us a big shout "Hey" when we ride by. I always give him a big wave back and we're all left smiling. He used to yell "Hey Bicycle guy" at my sweetie before we started riding in together - he's always excited to see the two of us. At 7:15 am what more can you ask for?

[Trek420]

People standing on the side of the road holding out bananas, granola bars and orange juice

That's great! You could stock him with bananas, granola bars and orange juice

[Grog]

Food and coffee on the bike route? It happened in Vancouver in the winter, to warm up the hearts and bellies of bike commuters alone a popular route:

http://www.beyondrobson.com/city/200...route_to_work/

[shootingstar]

I'd like a good night's sleep, every night, and the ability to wake up early enough to commute without feeling trashed.

+1. I wonder why I sleep in an extra 2-3 hrs. on weekends..when quite honestly I do want to get an early morning ride and make good use of my weekends. I succeed 50% of the time. Maybe it's age, it doesn't get any easier over time..

There is nothing quite like restorative sleep... to beat 4:30 am wakeup times on workdays.

[KatiePickle]

I wish there was an anti-leafblower law for my commute. Nothing like a little dust in the eyes on a busy street to wake you up in the mornings.

[Trek420]

It was in my Spam mailbox so I did not see it for a bit. I got a response to my letter quoted above

"Dear Ms. Trek,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have asked my staff to handle your request and we will get a sign installed as expeditiously as possible.

Roxy Carmichael-Hart
Transportation Manager
The City Trek Lives in"

Soon more riders and pedestrians may be enjoying this quiet street parallel that passes a park then goes up over the freeway instead of on the overpass itself.

[kfergos]

No ice or snow on the roads, ever.
Wide, clean shoulders the whole way.
Cops directing stopping cars to let bikes go at intersections.
No bike-killer storm drains with the parallel bars (I counted no fewer than 20 of these in an 8-mile stretch of my ride)

Most of all, no:
- Stinky garbage trucks
- Semi trucks with big long trailers on narrow roads
- Landscaping trucks, especially with big trailers*
- Snow plows spewing salt as they pass you
- School buses that pass too close
- Vehicles that pass within 1 foot of you at any time

*Yesterday I got passed by a van that had a huge fan affixed the the front. It was towing a large trailer, and attached to the back of the trailer was the basket for a hot air balloon!