Commuter Q

[Kimmyt]

So I've dabbled in commuting for the last year or so. The area I live in is pretty hilly, which makes the 7 mile commute pretty 'fun'. The other day I was playing around and trying to find a suitable route from my boyfriend's house to my work, so I can commute when I stay over at his place too.

The problem is that there are two routes. Route A is fairly safe, riding on gravel community trail and back roads. The problem is that there is a gigantic hill on it that I just can't for the life of me make it up. I'm talking I very nearly had a coronary at the top of it on Saturday (I really did almost puke and pass out from such high heart rate). Then there are even more hills to get to my place of work! Unfortunately I can't use my road bike with it's gloriously nice shifting and triple chain ring because the trail I ride in on in the beginning is rough gravel...bummer. So instead I'm stuck on my heavy, POS commuter bike.

Then there's Route B, which starts the same as Route A, on wooded community trails but then I'd have to get onto a 2 lane road. I would be making a left onto this road, which isn't a problem because there's a light that will make it simple to turn from. The shoulder on this major road is pretty big, and the road surface is nice. But there's a few lights I have to go through, two of which pass entryways to a highway. Then I have to make a left across the two lanes of traffic (not terribly busy, but busy enough) to get into my complex. I can make a U turn and go straight across the intersection when the light is green, though which will save some stress. This way, while a bit more harrowing with the cars, is muuuuuuch less hilly.

The question is, which way would you pick? Also, what do you think of breaking traffic laws? It would make it a bit easier if I could just turn left onto the shoulder riding against traffic and then I wouldn't have to worry about making another left to get into my work complex, but I don't really like the idea of riding against traffic.

K.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Also, what do you think of breaking traffic laws? It would make it a bit easier if I could just turn left onto the shoulder riding against traffic and then I wouldn't have to worry about making another left to get into my work complex, but I don't really like the idea of riding against traffic. K.

I think that riding against traffic is a really, really bad idea. The drivers don't expect you to be there - add that to the fact that it is against the vehicle code, and I think you're asking for problems.

--- Denise

[Veronica]

I ride my road bike on gravel, just very carefully.

Breaking traffic laws is never a good idea. Drives me nuts when the kids around here ride the wrong way in the bike lane. It forces me to go out into the traffic lane on my commute.

Of course on rainy days, I've been known to ride the wrong way myself, on the sidewalk. There is almost no foot traffic and I ride slowly, yielding to anyone I happen to see. (One guy with a dog I think.) It keeps me from having to cross a fairly busy road twice in less than a tenth of a mile. When it's not raining, I take a longer route home.

V.

[Geonz]

HOw long have you been riding this route, and how regularly do you do it?

I would be highly inclined (excuse the pun) to do the hilly route and use it to get in shape, but that's my personality. I'd much rather conquer my cardiovascular system than traffic ;-)

However, over the past year I've gotten much more accustomed to traffic (but I still don't really like left turns... but I've gotten a whole lot more accustomed to them.)

If the shoulder were really wide and it wasn't a long way, I *might* be tempted to sneak over... but I'd want to analyze real risk vs. perceived risk as well as the irritation factor for the motorists. Left turns *feel* hairy - but on my route, fact is if I'm willing to hold off for as much as a minute, I'll have a nice big space to make my way out into the road and then to the immediate left I have to make. I plan 'way ahead (I caught myself trying to do it in the car the other week) scanning behind me for a nice space. I honestly don't know what I would do if I *had* to be more aggressive. I might just learn to do it. I remember learning to drive and having that same intimidated feeling, being sure that every car was aimed right at me. Of course, two critical differences are that on a bike I *can't* accelerate to match the traffic, and the splat consequences are more severe.

Can you get smaller tires on the commuter? (How rough is the gravel?) That could make the hill easier, too.

I'd probably do the hilly part or leave earlier so there's less traffic to do the trafficky one.



(tho' I have been told that somebody wrote to our newspaper about the "risky" behavior of people on the roads, including rollerbladers and cyclists riding the same direction as traffic... and the amateurish newspaper, far as I know, did not have the professionalism to put an "editor's note: it's illegal to ride against traffic" at the end.)

[Trek420]

I would vote for the hilly route. I will ride further and or harder route to be safer and or more scenic.

Also, good excuse to upgrade the POS bike, or get a cross

[betagirl]

I agree with the others on the traffic laws/riding against traffic. I live in a really urban area, so I have to basically assume the rules of the road of a car as I ride. Most of the time, I'd say about 98%, people treat me like they would another car. I use left turn lanes religously, and signal my intentions as much as possible. You still get idiots who think they automatically have the right of way, but overall I do better just acting like I'm a car. So I'd vote for Option B Good luck!

[CorsairMac]

I'd vote option B but then I like riding my road bikes. I ride to work every day on a busy street and I used to ride home on the bike trail until it went "under construction". I had to ride the busy street back home and found I Loved it! Now I ride the street both ways. As for breaking the laws: just remember you are a representative of a much larger community, if you break a law it could potentially reflect ill on that community. Although I've been known to run some stop signs in very quiet, empty residential neighbourhoods, I will Not break the law (ok...I do tend to speed through a school zone ) on a heavily travelled street. If I expect the cars to treat me as a vehicle, then I need to act as one. Which includes sitting at every red light.

As for the left hand turn - if you signal far enough ahead of time, Most cars will let you move over. If they don't, is there a sidewalk there on the right that you can use at the intersection to cross?

I've also learned, the more you travel the road, the more people will get used to seeing you and the easier it will become.

Let us know what you decide, I'm curious which route you go with.

[Kimmyt]

I think I'm going to try Route B (I'm fairly comfortable riding on the road, and I really don't want to arrive at work and feel like I've just run a marathon). I'm going to see how the traffic is during the morning. When I commute I tend to leave fairly early, around sunrise, to beat traffic. If the cars are that bad I will probably go back and work Route A.

This is only my alternate commute, for when I stay over at the Boy's house, my regular route involves HILLS HILLS HILLS and can I just say I am sick to death of them? I swear, I never noticed how hilly this region was until I started cycling!

Ack, now I'm off to do HILLS at the park! Someone, please shoot me!!

[CorsairMac]

ROFL!!! Come ride with me hun - I live in the foothills and work in the valley. Once you leave the center of Albuquerque going east or west your choices are: to climb the mountains or to climb the mountains! There were days I HATED going home at night coz I have to climb back up those nasty mountains I so happily flew down that morning, until I found this forum and learned that those mountains really are my friends! (OK...no they're not but I've chosen to be in a state of de-nile!) They really aren't so bad once you get used to their little quirks, pretty soon you won't even think about it, it'll just be what you have to do to get wherever it is you're going!

[SnappyPix]

Why don't you alternate the route to work?
Say, ride route B most of the time, but occasionally hit Route A and grit your teeth. As the weeks go by, try doing Route A a little more frequently, as your fitness improves.
Within a few months, you'll be able to do Route A with a smile on your face when you get to the top! It probably won't ever be easy, but it'll be do-able and you'll be so proud of yourself at how far you've come.
Doing the hill will really boost your fitness (honestly!), but doing it gradually will be much easier than trying every time.

[MomOnBike]

Count my vote toward alternating routes. Boredom is a Bad Thing.

My guess is that there are other routes out there that only a bicyclist would/can know about, so I have a suspicion that there are routes C, D, E, and on through the alphabet that you haven't discovered yet. (To be realistic, perhaps not... )

Still, you don't know until you've looked around from the saddle of the bike.

[RoadRaven]

The problem is that there is a gigantic hill on it that I just can't for the life of me make it up. I'm talking I very nearly had a coronary at the top of it on Saturday (I really did almost puke and pass out from such high heart rate).

I would pick route A, but if that hill is too awful, then I would probably do a combination of both, aiming to eventually do only route A.

When you get to the throwing up point, its not so much your heart rate but the lactate in your muscles (which can be predicted by your heart rate). Lactate acts like a poison and is the thing that hurts and eventually makes your muscles unable to respond. You need easy activity, like spinning your legs slowly as you go down the other sideof the hill, to disperse it.

I would suggest you do the hill every 2-3 days, allowing time for your legs to recover until you can make it to the top without walking.

I would also recommend "never walking" as soon as possible. Some of the best advice I have ever received was "don't walk... stop, have a rest for a minute or two, but don't walk".
The first time I did this I felt so good. Yes, I stopped on the hill I usually walked part of, but I didn't walk. I rested, got back on and rode a bit more... til I got to the top... and the psychological effect of this was huge. I didn't walk the damned thing - I rode EVERY last centimetre of it!

And that would be the last bit of "advice" I offer you... the toughest part of climbing any hill is getting your attitude to it right. If you approach thinking you can't, you wont. But if you approach it thinking you can, or that you will at the very least go further than last time... you will.

Good luck with it Kimmy... hills are my weakness but with perserverance and getting my thinking right before I get to the hills, I am improving.

[Trek420]

Today on BART the train operator made an announcement that "bikes are not allowed on any train during peak commute times

Those of you in the Bay Area know that bikes are allowed on any train but the first car, just not during peak times and directions on the SF line.

I was on the Richmond line.

alrighty then.

So I thought "self? should I say anything?" and I go to the intercom to the driver at the end of the car and I ask him "you just said bikes are not allowed on the train. I'm looking at the bikes on BART poster, it says something like this 'bikes are allowed on any car but the first car, and not during peak times in peak directions on the SF line.' This is the Richmond train right?"

crackle crackle

"uh, yes"

"so bikes are allowed, yes?"

"uhm, well I there was this pasenger complained and..."

"I bike to work often and don't want to get hassled by a passenger who heard that we are not allowed so to clarify...we are allowed unless it's too crowded right?"

"uh, yeah"

"thanks"

A passenger seated nearby me gives me a thumbs up.

A few moments later the driver announces "Attention, this is a correction to the earlier announcement...." he makes the correction and apologizes.

Same passenger smiles, two thumbs up

I went back to the intercom and thanked him.

He says he usualy drives the SF train and gets confused driving different lines.

I laughed and asked, "now you remember which track we're on now right?"

[CorsairMac]

wooohoo CorsairMac gives Trek 2 thumbs up! go get em girl!!!

[Geonz]

STand up and be COUNTED!!!

Huzzah!! (Tho' it was that thumbs up person that really made it work...)

We need to remember that next time we get a "get on the sidewalk, lady!" ... we can educate them, a few at a time...