The Tale of the Most Reluctant Bike Commuter Evar.

[acc]

Let me be clear. I love my car. It has seat warmers and a most excellent sound system (especially with the volume set on sternum vibrate-o). It hauls the kids, their gear, the groceries, and my bikes. I have a close and personal relationship with my car.

Unfortunately traffic has become so bad it’s *driven* me out of my car and onto my bike, kicking and screaming the whole way.

I hate the traffic on Maple Avenue in Vienna, it’s always snarled. Most of my local trips are within a few miles. So… I had a rack surgically implanted on my mountain bike. Then I hung some big-ass panniers on the racks and asked Jan @ Bikenetics to throw some enormous fat tires on the bike formerly known as Free Willy. And suddenly I found myself pedaling around for transportation and not recreation. Where did I go wrong?

So far my biggest problem is a lack of bike parking. My dentist was great and let me bring my bike right into the waiting room. The grocery store, not so cool. I had to chain my bike to some sort of pipe. When I asked about a bike rack I received a blank look followed by the observation, “Yeah, three other people ride their bikes here.” It’s going to be all uphill on the education front.

I’m a fair weather commuter. I told myself if I couldn’t find a safe route I wouldn’t do it. I found a safe route using the mapping feature on the Ride with GPS website. I told myself if it took more than 45 minutes to get there I wouldn’t do it. It took 35. Every excuse I came up with fell apart. So I rode to work. And did not die. I did it again. Still here.

I can’t do it everyday. But on days when I can, I will. Unless it sleets. Or rains. Or snows.
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Happy Trails (I still love my car)
ann

Topic

[acc]

Yes, I am truly experiencing the seasons… And after careful consideration I have to say that I’d prefer to experience winter in Miami where this weekend a local bike shop is sponsoring a Beer/BBQ ride. I plan to spend this weekend decrusting my gloves.

As for hills…To me an acquired taste is caviar or absinthe, something a bit out of the ordinary but with a recognizable payoff. I will try to focus on the positive, what is uphill in one direction is downhill in the other.

But I am making progress. Tomorrow I will not put my helmet on my head until I’ve snapped my light onto my helmet.

Wonder where I can find some caviar and absinthe?
ann

[Jason]

@dasgeh 13591 wrote:

Oddly enough, I think I appreciate winter more when I bike commute, because I truly experience the seasons. Or maybe this winter just hasn’t been so bad.

As for hills, two words: electric bike. (I’m still waiting to be booted from the forum for saying that. Maybe that’s why Tim is doing his purge.)

I hope I don’t get booted as well, but I would definately consider that a future option as the regenerative brake technology gets allot better.

[WillStewart]

@acc 13382 wrote:

The grocery store, not so cool. I had to chain my bike to some sort of pipe. When I asked about a bike rack I received a blank look followed by the observation, “Yeah, three other people ride their bikes here.”

Ann, I grew up in Vienna and have seen massive changes over the decades. If the grocery store chain does not provide bike racks, complain to the district/regional HQ. If that does not work (where they respond back with a “Yes, we will have one put in right away”, then consider taking your business elsewhere. If it is Magruders, then send an email to the ownership. Keep us posted on this, bike infrastructure is sorely needed and squeaky wheels play a big part.

Kudos on your lifestyle change – if more did so, oil imports wouldnt’ be such an economic and national security problem.

[WillStewart]

@acc 13392 wrote:

This is me, crying on the inside.

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No wonder I never see you – I’ve always thought the rhinestones would stand out blazingly

[acc]

Silly man. This is the “before” shot. I’ve been busy adding more bling to the helmet and pimping out my ride to a whole new level of tasteless obnoxiousness.
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Subjectively, three weeks into my new fun bike to work hobby, it is still a slog.
Objectively, I was distracted by the chance to gawk at a group of firefighters while climbing one of those horrid hills, forgot to shift into my smallest ring, but didn’t particularly notice. I think that means I’m becoming more proficient with hills. Or perhaps the firefighters were really hawt. Hard to sort.

Back to bling,
ann

[creadinger]

@DaveK 13526 wrote:

I can’t even fathom that anyone would enjoy riding Metro so I’m leaving that out.

I think metro deserves a teeny bit of credit. My wife takes metro daily and gets an extra 90 mins of sleep everyday. That is something I would not recommend while driving or biking. The RAAM guys talk about falling asleep on the bike sometimes, but I think they also say it’s a very bad thing to do. I wouldn’t want to metro daily, but it’s not all bad.

Metro saved my ass during the commutapocalypse last January.

[DaveK]

@creadinger 14564 wrote:

I think metro deserves a teeny bit of credit. My wife takes metro daily and gets an extra 90 mins of sleep everyday. That is something I would not recommend while driving or biking. The RAAM guys talk about falling asleep on the bike sometimes, but I think they also say it’s a very bad thing to do. I wouldn’t want to metro daily, but it’s not all bad.

Metro saved my ass during the commutapocalypse last January.

Metro is usually perfectly fine about getting you where you’re going. It’s the employee attitudes, the general state of the system and vehicles, and the random breakdowns with no communication that drive me up the wall. Also I’m not the kind of person that can be stuck in a tube with random fellow humans for more than 5 minutes and be okay with it. I also hate flying.

[KLizotte]

@acc 14537 wrote:

Silly man. This is the “before” shot. I’ve been busy adding more bling to the helmet and pimping out my ride to a whole new level of tasteless obnoxiousness.
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I suddenly had visions of Elvis. Perhaps you have become an Elvette?

Shame those rhinestones don’t light up at night. Now that would be cool.

Congrats on keeping up with the “horrid” commute. Perhaps you can ask the firefighters to hang out on your route everyday to provide inspiration. I’m sure they don’t mind women oggling them :rolleyes:

[Author]

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