Do you like the idea of commuting to work by bike but are uncertain how to begin? Are you afraid of riding in traffic with other vehicles? Do you think your commute would be too long or too strenuous? Well, for years I thought all of these things and more and it held me back. Eventually though, I found a way to gain enough confidence in myself to take the plunge. Here are a few tips that helped me along the way.

The Basics

Make sure your bike is in good working order; take it to a local bike shop for a tune-up. Also, make sure you have a good bike helmet and high visibility clothing. Being seen is the key to being safe. Finally, familiarize yourself with bike safety procedures. Most bike accidents are the result of cyclists placing themselves in dangerous situations …continue reading

It’s been about six weeks since I started commuting to work by bike and it’s truly been an eye-opening learning experience. For years I’d often wished that I could ride to work but I always thought “there is no way I could commute 30 miles round trip by bike, it’s ludicrous!” But last month, during my vacation I made a couple test runs and realized that it’s not that bad. In fact, it’s not bad at all and mostly, it’s pretty darn good.

The distance was the excuse but wasn’t really the problem. After all, I was used to regular 20-30 mile rides on the weekends and any hardcore biker would consider this distance merely a warmup to a century. I think my resistance had more to do with inertia and fear of breaking out of my comfort zone. What I needed was a push, a reason to look past the familiar and consider the inconsiderable. …continue reading

Lest anyone think otherwise, bike commuting is dangerous business. Two of my favorite bike commuting sites hammered home that message today. Bike Shop Girl, the moderator of CommuteByBike.com and an experienced bike commuter was in a serious accident this past Friday, hit by a driver making a left turn on yellow. Over at BikeCommuter.com they are discussing the “Honor the Fallen” bike ride held Friday in Tampa, Florida where six cyclists have died in the past nine weeks. Even fellow sustainability evangelist the Almighty Beckster was hit, though not seriously injured thankfully, by another driver making a left turn (see comments for Am I a Bike Commuting Wussy?). …continue reading

This entire past week has been just one mis-step after another for me. After spending Monday in Baltimore on business I really needed to get out and ride. Tuesday it rained all day so I elected (wisely in this instance) to drive to work. The forecast for Wednesday was cloudy with rain so I drove in again. Lo and behold the weather cleared up and it turned into a glorious mostly sunny day. Damn forecasters -I should have ridden my bike.

Thursday, I was all set to ride, pulled the bike out of the garage and the rain started to fall. Crap, looks like I’m driving again. Halfway to work …continue reading

…or how to convert a 20 year-old hybrid bike into a radical commuting machine.

After three weeks of commuting by bike and countless hours scouring the Internet for information on bike commuting, I’ve managed to cobble together a collection of components to enhance the safety and comfort of my new primary commuting vehicle. First let me give shout-outs to the bike commuters on the Internet for being an amazing information resource and Amazon.com for making all this componentry easy to find, review and purchase from a single source.

Here’s a list of the components that I’ve added to my stock hybrid to turn it into a proper commuter: …continue reading