When did I become the Commuting Evangelist?

[Dianyla]

Between the gorgeous sunny spring weather and skyrocketing gas prices, this afternoon at work no less than 3 coworkers stopped by my cubicle to ask me questions about bike commuting.

After the last one left, my new cube neighbor turned to me and asked "are you, like, the bicycle expert around here?"

[Melody]

Between the gorgeous sunny spring weather and skyrocketing gas prices, this afternoon at work no less than 3 coworkers stopped by my cubicle to ask me questions about bike commuting.

After the last one left, my new cube neighbor turned to me and asked "are you, like, the bicycle expert around here?"

heh. That has happened to me quite a bit. I know I've been directly responsible for at least getting two people (an ex-coworker and another ex-coworker's wife) riding.

I feel so good when that happens too

Mel

[Lise]

After the last one left, my new cube neighbor turned to me and asked "are you, like, the bicycle expert around here?"

I'm guessing that's a "yes"!

[tulip]

I had two neighbors in the past month ask me about commuting and routes to their offices. I don't know if they have ventured out, but I gave them a couple of routes and pointers. Gas prices seem to have people thinking differently.

[sydney_b]

i haven't converted anyone just yet, but have drawn up routes for folks. I take that back, my dear husband is going to start commuting to where he catches the bus to another city for work. So I guess that's one. Two of my sons also take their bikes, so maybe that makes 3.



/s

[Deanna]

I think the gas prices have finally gotten high enough to get people out of their cars and commuting by bike! Yay for high gas prices!!

[CorsairMac]

When did you??......probably the day you got a bike and used it instead of your car to get to work! LOL

I keep getting these emails from family/friends on how to really hurt the major oil companies by not buying gas from Exxon or Mobil! I keep writing back and telling them to leave their cars at home - That would really hit the oil companies where it hurts! *cigh* I'm guessing it's something only my fellow cyclists would understand! LOL

[DebW]

I educated the auto dealership this morning. Took a car in for service, then opened the trunk and pulled out my bike for the ride to work. They watched me put the wheels back on, asked me how much the bike weighed, how much it cost, and how far I rode. Then they talked about gas prices and how everyone was going to be riding bikes soon.

At work I'm more likely to get the mechanical questions, like "why is my fixed cup loose?" and "how do I replace my pedals?" and "Look at my broken rim".

[Geonz]

There's some really good stuff online - though at my presentation yesterday, ROUTES were a huge thing. (And it makes sense. Busy roads = rushed sleep-deprived students, faculty or hospital traffic, using cell phones while smoking; side roads work a *lot* better.)

http://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/s...s/safebike.pdf has a good booklet that was done by cyclists so it goes beyond teh rules and into "just where in the lane *do* you go in that intersection, under what circumstances?" and the like.

Here's the list of sites I sent 'round with my presentation mailing. They really get me stoked :-)


Sue's Annotated Bicycling LIfestyle Surflist for blending cycling into all kinds of aspects of life:

FUN!

http://www.prairiecycleclub.org (local bike club)
http://www.mikebentley.com/bike/ilrides.htm (lists riding information for Illinois and the Midwest)
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/ (all kinds of articles about bicycling, whether transportation or recreation)

Cycling for Slackers: http://www.living-room.org/bikepeople/slackers.htm "The purpose of the 'method' is to allow commuters or shoppers to make journeys of 2 to 5 miles wearing normal clothes without reducing themselves to a sweating trembling blob. While a few enlightened employers provide showers, supermarkets do not, and when you cycle the 'Slacker's Way' a quick spray of deodorant before starting is all that is required to avoid shame in the checkout line. "

BICYCLES AS ART:

http://spcycling.org/CyclingArt.htm Arizona desert sculpture
http://www.thecross-photo.com/Bicycl..._Josh_Deth.htm Bicycle Jesus

BICYCLING AS ART:

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/08/323232.shtml dubbed "psychedelic dundee" --back in Madison, WI (when he arted himself there)-- is "art-bent" on seeking to INSPIRE creative-leaning persons towards ARTING THEIR HEARTS in UNPRECIDENTED (sic) styLe!
http://uji-making.com/J/aeolian/ - “Aeolian bike ride” - become mobile art while you ride!

RELIGION:

<<http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action..._enabled=false >> Bicyling as a lenten practice
http://www.friendsjournal.org/conten.../feature2.html Friends don't let Friends Drive
http://bikeforpeace.org/ (scroll down for picture) Why would Jesus Drive?

POLITICS, PATRIOTISM AND PROTEST
http://www.stickergiant.com/page/sg/PROD/bicycle/fb1012 Bike: it's patriotic
http://www.mikebentley.com - assorted patriotic & cycling pages
http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/index.php Cyclists inciting change thru LIVE exchange
http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/ World Naked Bike Ride
http://www.times-up.org/images/oil-l...-and-puppy.jpg Bicycling: (a quiet statement) Against Oil Wars
<<http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action..._enabled=false >>Bicycling as a Lenten Practice - against dependence on oil
http://www.lovarchy.org/ride/ more protesting cyclists
http://www.southwestern.edu/academic.../alejandro.php - deep doo doo and bicycles
http://www.critical-mass.org/ critical mass, of course!

ENVIRONMENTAL
http://www.times-up.org/about.php

COMMUTING:
http://www.bfw.org/btww/commuting/index.php Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Practic...mmuteguide.htm
http://www.bicyclesource.com/you/wom...id-sweat.shtml Riding without Working Up a Sweat
http://commutebybike.com/2006/03/09/...ycle-commuter/ - a not-skinny man's blog about getting out of the cubicle
http://www.waba.org/new/help/commuting.php Commuting in the Wash., D.C. area (it's easier here than there!)
http://communitycyclingcenter.org/cr...-commuter.html efforts to help get bikes in the hands of folks who need them (
http://www.bikewhenever.com/


HEALTH AND FITNESS
http://www.bikewalk.org/ - national center for bicycling and walking, including case study of the benefits of walking & cycling on community and environment.
http://www.bikewalk.org/assets/pdf/CASE15.PDF PDF file about the benefits of biking and walking
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/hf/index.htm fight obesity and mental stagnation with your bicycle.
http://www.agingwell.state.ny.us/fit...ike_health.htm Bicyling Prfomots Good Health (Aging Well Village, NY)

LIFESTYLE: http://www.xtracycle.com Converting a bike to a Sports Utility Bicycle

WHATEVER: http://www.deadbabybikes.org (Seattle cycling club)

Oh, and BLENDING!!!!
http://www.bikeblender.com

[Deanna]

Wow Sue!! What a great bunch of links you've compiled. I''m going to save these so I can explore them when I'm not at work. I'll add my husbands commute page, mostly its local information, but he'll take information from anywhere if you'd like to add to it:

http://www.sonic.net/~douglasi/bike/index.htm

[Duck on Wheels]

Nope. I'd say your were not an evangelist. For me, as a non-religionist, there is a very important difference between an evangelist (i.e. somebody who actively seeks out people and seeks to convert them) and an available advisor (somebody who lives as they believe and then answers questions when others choose to ask them). You can probably guess which category I prefer. People came to you without you needing to preach to them. I think that's great! So good on you for being an example and generous with advice, but NOT being an evangelist!

[withm]

With the price of gas, I'm going to start riding to work a couple days a week. If it goes well, I'll be wanting to buy a commuting bike, and need to decide if I want a hybrid, or stick with a heavier road bike.

I currently ride a carbon fiber road bike that I love, but do not want to junk it up with a rack and I think the skinny tires are best left for my long fun rides. Plus it is too pricey a bike to leave it unattended even if locked to a rack while I use it to do errands.

I think I want ~700x35 ish tires, triple crankset, probably (?) dropped handlebars so I have more options for hand placement. The commute is 12 flat but often windy (20-35mph) miles one way with one big hill (bridge that I can barely get over right now on my ultralight road bike), soon to be 13 miles with 2 hills when the office moves. I'm thinking a rear rack to hold one of those trunk bags, and maybe eventually small panniers for groceries if I go that far with this idea. Haven't really set a price range yet - not sure what it's going to be, prob $500-1,000? Is that reasonable?

So - do I look for heavier less pricey road bike, or a hybrid? Recommendations? What features should I be looking for, questions I should be asking? What kind of bikes do you all use for commuting?

[KnottedYet]

Please take a peek at the Kona Dew. It is only $400. Has the 700c wheels (with cyclocross tires that I am loving) and triple ring, plus has a mega granny. I've got mine loaded down with panniers. It handles beautifully. I bought it mainly for commuting.

When I told the LBS I wanted a commuter bike that I could also use for longer trips and do the Danskin Triathlon, this is the bike they recommended above all the others they had. (even the expensive ones)

The salesguy told me the frame of the Dew is great, and if you upgrade a few components you essentially get the Dew Deluxe (same frame). In fact, the geometry of the Dew frame is the same as the Kona Sutra touring bike.

He assured me I couldn't go wrong with this frame. And frame is the soul of the bike.

www.konaworld.com

And, Kona is doing the AfricaBike project. www.konabiketown.com I felt good buying from a company that does something cool like this.

[Dianyla]

withm, I have a similar dilemma regarding commuting and my current bicycle. I've got a very lovely Orbea that I hold very dearly, but she isn't designed for commuting by any stretch of the imagination. One of these days I'd love to find a nice second bike - something like a used touring bike - but in the meantime here's what I do:

Carrying stuff:
No braze-ons to have racks installed, and the fork/rear chainstay are carbon. I've heard suggestions that you shouldn't put racks on carbon anyway. I carry everything on my back in a pretty nice cycling backpack made by Deuter. Downside - hot sweaty back and increased saddle weight. Upside - increased core strength, and my sitbones are probably getting tough enough that I could easily go 80+ miles right now, even though I'm only logging 50-60 miles a week. Now when I ride without my backpack I fly down the road.

Tires:
I'm still using the 700x23 racy tires. As long as I keep the tires properly inflated and choose my path carefully in the debris of the bike lane, I haven't been having many flats. It's true that the bomb-proof bigger tires would probably be comfier to commute on, but they're higher rolling resistance and more energy spent just to move the wheels round and round. You won't necessarily get better traction by going to bigger tires with more tread, if anything you could get less traction.

Security:
At the office we have a fairly secure bike lock that is right in front of the security desk. I've been negotiating with our building maintenance people to get some enclosed bike lockers installed and I think it's going to happen. At my school there is a huge bike theft problem, fortunately there are some city-operated bike lockers and I was able to reserve one of these for $10/month. I simply don't run errands on my bike when I commute, I try to plan my errands for car days or the weekend.

Fenders:
Fenders are a must for commuting here in Portland. SKS makes these Race Blade clip-on fenders for racy bikes that don't have clearance under the brakes for normal fenders. They are a little shifty but they do work pretty well, they don't block all water but you won't show up to work looking like you just crapped your pants on your morning commute.

Lights:
Basic lighting installed on the bike, and additional lights attached to my helmet and backpack.

Anyway, I admit that my situation is far from ideal. Someday I will probably get a dedicated commuter bike, but I want to point out that it can be done. And hey, so what if I drive my "fancy sportscar bike" every day, instead of keeping her polished with a diaper and stored in the garage?

[Quillfred]

I'm still happy with bike #2 a Redline Conquest Pro XC bike

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adult...quest-pro.html

that I got off Craigslist for $700 nearly new. It has a wide fork that enabled the previous owner to use knobbies. I put recharging Cygolite light on it as well as a rack and fenders. It is light but sturdier than my Trek 1500. Has same 105 components. I ride it in the Spring, Fall and milder Winter days. It handles the rain pretty well but next splurges will be disc brakes and Ortlieb panniers (mostly for groceries). I am lucky as I carry it into the office (landlord forbids bikes indoors but I'll be damned if I'm going to leave it in the rain all day).

I also considered others as I tried about 8 bikes or so. I'm a sucker for a good deal. Have fun test riding. I love taking out a bike for a spin.