Bike Commuting

Almost every work day I ride my bike 22 miles. I am not a triathlete. I am not a cyclist. I am a bike commuter.

I don't own a high-tech bike that cost me thousands of dollars. I don't wear colorful spandex that shows off my ass or my pencil thin arms. I am a bike commuter.

I'm not into it for the exercise. But the exercise is still good. I'm not even in to it save the environment. But doing my part to help the environment is still good too. I bike commute because it feels good to have wind on my skin and the sun on back. It feels good to be in control of my body and to bend it to my will. I enjoy the challenge of getting faster and faster on my rides so that I have more and more time to spend with my family.

But most of all, I bike commute because it saves me money - both in terms of the actual costs of travel and in future health related expenses.

Bike commuting is a very simple endeavor. All you need is a bike, safety gear, and a way to schlep your stuff (work clothes, lunch, etc.) around. It really is that easy!

Picking the right bike for you is going to take a lot of information about you as a person and about your physical build. So I won't be able to speak on what type of bike that I chose and why I did it. I bought a used, really old (like as old as I am), road bike for dirt cheap off of craigslist.

I went with a road bike because they are best suited to go fast on the road. I like going fast and all of my commute was going to be on the road so that was a perfect fit for me. If I was going to be spending most of my commute on dirt paths or trails I would have obviously gone with a mountain bike since road bikes don't really go that fast on dirt.

Also, I knew what size frame I should purchase because I did some research on the topic - so I didn't need to go to a bike store to get fitted for my bike. I also didn't care about finding the perfect fit for my bike. It just needed to get me from point A to point B without destroying my body. So a frame that was the right size was enough to get me started.

I went used because I didn't want to throw down cash on buying a new bike when I wasn't sure that it would make much of a difference in terms of commuting time. From what I could tell, a bike that was 30 years old was just as good as a bike that is brand new. I don't think that this was entirely accurate, but I still like my old bike quite a bit and feel like it was a great investment for me.

This is by far the most important part of my bike set up in terms of comfort. At first, I had a bike seat that was hard and left my undersides sore to sit on. It wasn't so bad for the first few days, but by the end of the week my butt would be so sore that it would even be hard to sit in regular chairs, let alone push myself on my rides home.

Luckily, my brother saved my life and bought me a much, much nicer seat. I have not had a sore bottom since.

My recommendation is to get a high quality seat for the type of bike that you are riding. If you have a mountain bike get a seat that will support you in your ride nicely. If you have a road bike, do the same.

Getting tires that would not get punctures in them was the bane of my existence in those early days of bike commuting. It felt like I got a flat every stinking day and it was a pain to try and get my spare on at work, patch my tube, and have everything ready for my 11 mile trip back home.

I used to live in constant fear of getting flats. Then I got thorn resistant, Kevlar protected tires. I now have no fear riding over a patch of broken glass. These things are bullet proof.

You need a helmet when commuting by bike. This is a non-negotiable. I don't care if it will mess up your hair or if it will make you sweat more. You need to wear a helmet.

They protect your head when you fall - and you will fall. They can be the difference between life and death in some very otherwise 'simple' accidents. You don't want your son, daughter, or spouse to be without you simply because you wanted to avoid some minor inconveniences, do you?

Personally, I wear a regular looking short to do my rides in - but some people really dig the spandex. I don't understand why you would want to be riding around showing everyone your butt, but apparently a lot of people like doing it. What makes it really creepy is when old men do it who have no business wearing shorts like that.

In terms of what you need for bike commuting I think that the answer is you don't really need to buy any additional clothes. You have t-shirts. You have shorts or gym shorts. You have a sweat shirt (in case it is cold). What more do you really need?

How you get your stuff back and forth to the office is a big deal. If you have important things like a laptop or files then they need to be housed in carrying cases that can withstand some of the elements that you will encounter on your rides.

I, personally, just have a normal, everyday backpack that I lug around my change of clothes and my food with. This works fine for me for the moment.

What I really want to do is to get some type of pannier bags for my bike. This way I don't have to carry a backpack anymore since my backpack does help my back sweat a lot on my rides. Again, this is not necessary and that is why I still carry a backpack to get my stuff to and from work.