Getting Easier

[Heifzilla]

I've done half commutes a few times now (I have DH take me to work and I bike home afterwards). The dreaded hills (inclines ) are getting much easier. Still not fast, still not exactly easy, but *easier*.

I'm enjoying commuting. At some point I plan on doing the entire 22 miles in one day but for the moment the half commute is good for me. I only wish I had more options for roads. My co-workers are constantly telling me how dangerous it is for me to bike on the roads. I am not an idiot, I know the risks. It's disheartening to realize how many people really are scared to ride like I do.

[redrhodie]

Don't listen to your coworkers. You're doing great! The half commute sounds like the perfect solution. 22 miles is excellent.

[lph]

Put on a high-viz jersey and have at it!

People who tell me how "dangerous it all looks" are invariably people who don't bike themselves and don't know how much more you can see from a bike, who only notice the ninja cyclists who bounce out of nowhere and barely miss their wheels, and who assume that we all ride like that and along the same highways and at the same speed that they drive their cars. When I ask exactly what looks dangerous they're often hard put to reply.

Sure, it has risks, but leading a sedentary life is hardly riskfree either...

Just smile, and help yourself to an extra portion for lunch!

[tulip]

Tell your coworkers to drive mindfully and be extra aware of cyclists--it could be you! Good job on continuing to commute by bike. Is your commute 22 miles each way or round trip?

[OakLeaf]

Yay for you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I really intended to commute yesterday, but it was raining and nasty and I'm a lazy fair-weather cyclist. Maybe next week (I'm only working Wednesdays this month.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Great job!!!!
It will seem less dangerous or scary the more you do it- you will develop your traffic skills. I too recommend throwing some high-vis screaming yellow top or vest on- I think they really help keep drivers alert to you. I got a couple of loose hi-vis yellow t-shirts and I just cut the sleeves off and throw them on over whatever I'm wearing sometimes. Instant lightweight safety vest!

Keep up the good work!!

[Biciclista]

you go girl!
we are the pioneers, the adventurous women who take charge of their lives and get on our bikes and ride!

As you continue to ride, the scardycats will quiet down. I have the same problem here.

[Grog]

Fantastic! And it will only get better from here.

Yes do tell your co-workers that if they are concerned for your safety they should be mindful when they drive and give ample room to cyclists. And smile to them, too.

Or they could also get on the road with you. Safety in numbers!

Enjoy!

[Heifzilla]

Tell your coworkers to drive mindfully and be extra aware of cyclists--it could be you! Good job on continuing to commute by bike. Is your commute 22 miles each way or round trip?

It's 11 each way. I re-read what I wrote and it sounds like it's 22 each way...nope! Though some days 11 feels like 22 I fixed the OP.

My one co-worker is the worst because she fell asleep at the wheel and crashed her car into a mailbox so she's always telling me about how someone like her could take me out. What do you say to that? Sheese.

[Heifzilla]

Great job!!!!
It will seem less dangerous or scary the more you do it- you will develop your traffic skills. I too recommend throwing some high-vis screaming yellow top or vest on- I think they really help keep drivers alert to you. I got a couple of loose hi-vis yellow t-shirts and I just cut the sleeves off and throw them on over whatever I'm wearing sometimes. Instant lightweight safety vest!

Keep up the good work!!

The t-shirts are really a great idea for a cheap, lightweight vest.

I was able to feed my hot pink addiction and get a hi-viz vest all in one. I found a company that sells SCREAMING HOT PINK safety vests that also have the 3M relfective striping. The yelling is because it really is SCREAMING HOT PINK. DH brought the package in, and since I had used his CC to order it the label was in his name, so he opened it. He told me he was blind for several minutes afterwards

[Eden]

It's 11 each way. I re-read what I wrote and it sounds like it's 22 each way...nope! Though some days 11 feels like 22

My one co-worker is the worst because she fell asleep at the wheel and crashed her car into a mailbox so she's always telling me about how someone like her could take me out. What do you say to that? Sheese.

Good grief.... she could have as easily killed someone in another car.... I have little restraint with people like that. I probably would have suggested that she needs to take the *responsibility* of having the *privilege* of driving much more seriously and that anyone who does not deserves to lose that privilege....

[OakLeaf]

Just beware of anything other than hi-viz yellow in dusk conditions - when light is low, but enough daylight that motorists won't necessarily be burning headlights to activate your retro-reflective strips.

I recently bought a SCREAMING orange top for running, and yes it screams, just like your pink. (They call the color Cherry Tomato apparently, but it really is a bright safety orange.) When I took it into the changing room to try it on, the orange that stood out so brightly on the rack on the shop floor, almost disappeared in the low light. For comparison I grabbed a true hi-viz yellow Brooks top and brought into the changing room. Unlike the orange, the yellow stayed lit up.

I have one of those Brooks tops already, and I don't like the fabric well enough to buy a second one, so I bought the orange. But I wear the orange one only in bright sunlight. If it's full dark, then reflective matters more than color obviously. If it's cloudy or toward evening, it's yellow and only yellow for me.

[Groundhog]

Great job!!!!
It will seem less dangerous or scary the more you do it- you will develop your traffic skills. I too recommend throwing some high-vis screaming yellow top or vest on- I think they really help keep drivers alert to you. I got a couple of loose hi-vis yellow t-shirts and I just cut the sleeves off and throw them on over whatever I'm wearing sometimes. Instant lightweight safety vest!

Keep up the good work!!

Good on you, Herfzilla!

I got a SCREAMING yellow jacket this winter which also converts to a vest (Pearl Izumi http://www.rei.com/product/772147 ). It has lots of nice pockets. I wore it as a vest today and yesterday, even in our 85 degree weather. It didn't make me too hot and the color really pops. My kids say it hurts their eyes.

[tulip]

It's 11 each way. I re-read what I wrote and it sounds like it's 22 each way...nope! Though some days 11 feels like 22 I fixed the OP.

My one co-worker is the worst because she fell asleep at the wheel and crashed her car into a mailbox so she's always telling me about how someone like her could take me out. What do you say to that? Sheese.

I'd say, "You shouldn't be driving if you aren't in a condition to do it safely."

I bet you'll build up to the whole commute faster than you think. I used to commute 14 miles each way and it wasn't a problem after I'd been doing it for a couple of months.

[Heifzilla]

Just beware of anything other than hi-viz yellow in dusk conditions - when light is low, but enough daylight that motorists won't necessarily be burning headlights to activate your retro-reflective strips.

I recently bought a SCREAMING orange top for running, and yes it screams, just like your pink. (They call the color Cherry Tomato apparently, but it really is a bright safety orange.) When I took it into the changing room to try it on, the orange that stood out so brightly on the rack on the shop floor, almost disappeared in the low light. For comparison I grabbed a true hi-viz yellow Brooks top and brought into the changing room. Unlike the orange, the yellow stayed lit up.

I have one of those Brooks tops already, and I don't like the fabric well enough to buy a second one, so I bought the orange. But I wear the orange one only in bright sunlight. If it's full dark, then reflective matters more than color obviously. If it's cloudy or toward evening, it's yellow and only yellow for me.

I agree with you on the yellow. My husband, Mr. Engineer, insists that the hi-viz hunter orange is the best color for dusk...he said it's proven that people can see it, why else would they use it for hunters since hunters are usually out at dusk, yadda yadda. I found a chart that said that the lime yellow color is actually the best: http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResou...htresponse.htm and still, DH argues with me. That lime green/yellow is right in the sweet spot for the human eye, around 550 nanometers, so we see it the best.