Considering daily commuting, help me decide if it’s right for me…

[CWJW]

My car just broke down and I’m considering commuting by bike to get to and from work. I’m considering getting a replacement car or just making commuting a regular thing.

Although the commute is only a little over 2 miles each way and I have a decent bike (Kona Jake Cyclocross), there are a couple of things that are holding me back:

1. Don’t have a place to shower or gym anywhere nearby my work. I’m not the type than can walk around feeling sticky all day either so masking sweat with deodorant wouldn’t really work for me. I work fairly independently in a casual environment, so it’s just mainly not having to walking around all day with the post-exercise sweat on me.

2. live in upper NW and would have to climb a 1/2 mile steep hill going back home (Tilden Rd if anyone is familiar with it is one of the steepest hills in DC). Not that it’s that big of a deal and I’m fit with a 21 BMI, but I would be hauling about 10-12lb of electronic equipment (laptop, ipad, lab equipment, etc..) that I need to take home with me everyday.

3. The thought of making the commute in a heavy downpour turns me off. It seems it would put me in a really bad mood to start the day off in or come back from a long day at work. I don’t have any rain gear either.

On the plus side, I would be saving money from not using a car regularly. To me, the negatives somewhat balance out with the positives though. Hopefully, a regular commuter out there with a similar situation would be able to help me make a decision.

thanks!

Topic

[Steve O]

@KLizotte 116682 wrote:

With such a short ride, you should be able to time your riding to avoid the storms so long as you have flexibility to sometimes leave work a little early and don’t mind staying a little late at times. Storms around here tend to be between 4:00 and 6:00 pm.

This is why fenders are useful. If you wait out a storm and ride after it is over, you will still get your back (and feet probably) all wet without them. Anytime there is water on surfaces, your fenders will keep it from getting on you.

My experience has been that the vast majority of the time–probably upwards of 90%–it is not precipitating while I am riding. We tend to remember those rides when conditions were “memorable,” but they actually make up only a tiny percentage of total time on the bike. And, as klizotte points out, if you have flexibility, that percentage goes down even more.

[dasgeh]

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice. I would only add that you can always take a cab or uber as a backup. I think you’ll find it pretty rare that you actually don’t want to ride, but you’re plan can be to cab it. If you find yourself taking cabs a lot, you can think about buying that car.

[CWJW]

thanks for the advice all. I think I’m going see if I can find a good deal on a rear fender. I agree that the morning commute shouldn’t be bad. Only section of my trip that might cause me some stress is a small section of beach road that I need to cross in order to get to Blagden Rd. Sometimes there’s a long queue of traffic and I sometimes see cyclists riding the centerline of the road.

[creadinger]

@CWJW 116714 wrote:

thanks for the advice all. I think I’m going see if I can find a good deal on a rear fender. I agree that the morning commute shouldn’t be bad. Only section of my trip that might cause me some stress is a small section of beach road that I need to cross in order to get to Blagden Rd. Sometimes there’s a long queue of traffic and I sometimes see cyclists riding the centerline of the road.

I may have a fender for you if you have a road bike. I have a random rear fender on my rando bike that I want to replace with the matching set I got recently. I was going to donate it to VeloCity or something. The brand is Trexx or something like that, but I think they’ve been discontinued, but they’re easy to install if you have eyelets(?). They’re the wider variety so should fit tires 700×32 or so. I usually ride 28s. Let me know if you’re interested, and we can arrange a meet up.

[vvill]

BMI of 21? 2 miles? Take up running!

I don’t have showers at my office either. I use wipes/wet a towel.

For rainy commutes I try to shoot gaps in the weather (…checking radar a lot). The main thing for me is to have dry clothes for the start of the return leg – I keep spares at work – socks and plastic ziplocks for phone/keys, and I have fans set up to help dry out shoes/etc. I use them in the summer too to ensure everything is dry by the time I head home.

I’m not familiar with that part of DC but are there any alternative routes (longer but less stressful)?

[Zach_the_Lizard]

@CWJW 116660 wrote:

My car just broke down and I’m considering commuting by bike to get to and from work. I’m considering getting a replacement car or just making commuting a regular thing.

Although the commute is only a little over 2 miles each way and I have a decent bike (Kona Jake Cyclocross), there are a couple of things that are holding me back:

1. Don’t have a place to shower or gym anywhere nearby my work. I’m not the type than can walk around feeling sticky all day either so masking sweat with deodorant wouldn’t really work for me. I work fairly independently in a casual environment, so it’s just mainly not having to walking around all day with the post-exercise sweat on me.

I’m overweight and out of shape, and I’m a world champion sweater. My commute is 5 miles and I’ve shown up for work sweaty, but I bike in my work attire. At most I’ll bring an undershirt to change out of and then put my dress shirt on. If I go slow I can avoid sweating at all. I never go full blast on the way to work. Our commutes are short enough that there’s no need to sprint.

@CWJW 116660 wrote:

2. live in upper NW and would have to climb a 1/2 mile steep hill going back home (Tilden Rd if anyone is familiar with it is one of the steepest hills in DC). Not that it’s that big of a deal and I’m fit with a 21 BMI, but I would be hauling about 10-12lb of electronic equipment (laptop, ipad, lab equipment, etc..) that I need to take home with me everyday.

I’m not a fit guy, and I bike up the hill in Rosslyn while carrying my laptop and backpack. My BMI is like 28, to give an indication of our relative fitness levels. If you’re like me you’ll be quite sweaty. If you don’t mind the sweat, you should have no trouble actually climbing the hill. You could also walk the bike or partially bike up the hill and walk.

@CWJW 116660 wrote:

3. The thought of making the commute in a heavy downpour turns me off. It seems it would put me in a really bad mood to start the day off in or come back from a long day at work. I don’t have any rain gear either.

I don’t commute in the rain too because I’m not set up for it. If you don’t want to ride on the rain, don’t. You might see if there are any public transit options for rainy days. I’m slowly working my way to riding in the rain and I use the Metro when I don’t feel like it.

[baiskeli]

I know this has already been covered, but two miles downhill is literally no sweat.

[Crickey7]

To repeat on the advice about not biking if it’s raining. No one demands ideological purity to this one mode of commuting. If you don’t want to ride in the rain, don’t. Many riders on this board don’t particularly care for it, especially when air temps drop below 50 or so. It’s fairly easy to avoid getting wet on a short commute by paying attention to one or another weather site (but bring a plastic trash bag at all times anyway). And don’t ride in RCP in a severe thunderstorm in any event. Trees drop limbs onto the path and road all the time.

[Terpfan]

@Crickey7 116836 wrote:

To repeat on the advice about not biking if it’s raining. No one demands ideological purity to this one mode of commuting. If you don’t want to ride in the rain, don’t. Many riders on this board don’t particularly care for it, especially when air temps drop below 50 or so. It’s fairly easy to avoid getting wet on a short commute by paying attention to one or another weather site (but bring a plastic trash bag at all times anyway). And don’t ride in RCP in a severe thunderstorm in any event. Trees drop limbs onto the path and road all the time.

Adding onto this sage point about the RCP, I would also add be warned of the existence of the giant sand pit at the bottom of the RCP hill coming off of Calvert St.

To the broader point, yah I wouldn’t worry much on two miles and I would just go slow. Maybe have a different t-shirt you can wear if you’re planning to carry that stuff in a backpack. You said it’s casual work environment right? If so, you can pull off any backpack. At my old job, I had a suit sack since it was a formal place. Now adays I just use an old backpack with a few extra bags inside to keep stuff dry.

My first two miles are almost all downhill and I really don’t think I work up much of a sweat in doing them. I definitely do probably by about mile 5 as I’m in Old Town (whole thing is about 15.5-16.5 depending on route). As for downpours, in the summer, they just make you soggy. It’s the spring and fall downpours when it’s 41 degrees out that suck and are harder to dress for, but in a short ride, I wouldn’t honestly worry much at all. Fenders make sense, especially if you’re going to wear your work close since rear wheels will shoot crap back onto you during those days.

[Crickey7]

@Terpfan 116838 wrote:

Fenders make sense, . . .

So do pocket protectors, but you won’t see me wearing ’em.

[baiskeli]

@Crickey7 116839 wrote:

So do pocket protectors, but you won’t see me wearing ’em.

We’ve noticed that your pockets are all torn up and stained with ink though. Just sayin’.

[Terpfan]

@Crickey7 116839 wrote:

So do pocket protectors, but you won’t see me wearing ’em.

Ha.

My comment on fenders could be taken the same way. I don’t have them on the bike because I realized I don’t really care too much if the bike clothes get dirty and because I was too lazy to install them. More of the latter.

[CWJW]

creadriner – thanks for the offer on the fenders. I’m not in a hurry to get some just yet. My commute may be short enough that I can live without them.

Anyway, for the most part the commute has been alot easier in the mornings than the afternoons as others have suggested. I missed this afternoon’s storm but it’s inevitable that I’ll eventually get caught up in one I guess. As for not biking during rainy days, it’s not really an option at this point since public transportation is way too inconvenient. As for RCP during the rain, that area by Pierce Mill that I pass was flooded out last year during one of the storms. I think a section of RCP was also effected.

[creadinger]

@CWJW 116906 wrote:

creadriner – thanks for the offer on the fenders. I’m not in a hurry to get some just yet. My commute may be short enough that I can live without them.

Anyway, for the most part the commute has been alot easier in the mornings than the afternoons as others have suggested. I missed this afternoon’s storm but it’s inevitable that I’ll eventually get caught up in one I guess. As for not biking during rainy days, it’s not really an option at this point since public transportation is way too inconvenient. As for RCP during the rain, that area by Pierce Mill that I pass was flooded out last year during one of the storms. I think a section of RCP was also effected.

Whoops, forgot about this thread.

Sounds good. Also, for clarification I only have the rear fender. Good luck today and tomorrow with the flash flood watch. Do you have detours you can take a round the flood prone areas? Summer rain is mostly just a nuisance, unless there’s some cloud to ground lightning in there too. Then it can be terrifying.

Contrary to what some of the guys above said, fenders do more than just keep you clean, they also help to keep a lot of the grit and grime off of your bike as well. I have found that in light-moderate rain you’ll get just as wet from the filthy water that comes up from your tires as you will from the rain itself.

[Author]

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