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One year of cycling to work

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Re: One year of cycling to work

#351

Post by romwell »

dte22 wrote: post #231
nsedlet wrote: post #124

I commute about 6 miles each way between Brooklyn (home) and Manhattan (work). I've been raving about it to everyone I know because it's legitimately changed my life. It feels amazing, saves money, keeps me in much better shape, gives me more energy at work. It's slightly faster than the subway, and significantly faster than driving/cabbing at rush hour. I also love that transit time is very consistent (even relative…

If you don't mind me asking, how do you deal with the sweat? Do you shower on arrival? I would love to bike, but no showers at my current workplace :/

Everything others already said, AND: don't wear a backpack.

Get a cargo rack + Wald folding pannier baskets, and put your cargo there. Ride with a messenger bag, if needed.

Then you'd sweat no more than you would while walking (if cycling at an appropriate pace).

Re: One year of cycling to work

#352

Post by rconti »

dkarl wrote: post #333
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the basic question, but how do you bike for 90 minutes without being covered in sweat and needing a shower when you arrive at your destination?

It's a good question. In my climate, eight months out of the year it's impossible to ride for more than twenty minutes without getting sweaty, but I find that most days don't need a full shower to freshen up. Just take a washcloth with you, get it wet, and do a once-over when you change clothes. Re-apply deodorant and you're fine. There are still a lot of days (almost every day in the height of summer) where it's so…

Good clothes help. I wear a lot of icebreaker merino wool stuff (yes, even t-shirts) and they simply never stink. But I also commute in 'normal' cotton/poly clothes.

True "workout" gear stinks to high heaven. I'm not sure what they put in gym shirts and shorts but once you sweat, it's all over. Don't wear that stuff when commuting to work!

Normally I commute in a t-shirt, a merino sweater/sweatshirt, and jeans with bike shorts (padded liners) underneath. They're basically like the underwear version of bike shorts -- not something to be worn solo.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#353

Post by TulliusCicero »

rconti wrote: post #338
TulliusCicero wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people in the states with that short of a commute probably still drive, and I don't blame them (because biking in most American cities is absolutely awful).

To me it's like voting. I guess I could complain about why it doesn't do any good and justify not doing it. Or I could just do it, and others see and hear your experiences, and are more likely to do it themselves/consider it 'normal'.

Oh, I've done it before. Biking to work was my primary method of transportation when I was in the bay area. By American standards, my route was pretty decent, which means that by any sane, objective standard it was trash. I got hit by cars twice the last year before I moved to Germany. Once I had my son on my bike, that was especially fun.

I was willing to take some risk, but expecting the average person to is unreasonable. Getting around shouldn't involve serious risk to your person. We'd never accept using "painted walk lanes" everywhere, and yet that standard is considered "pretty good" for biking. It's absurd.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#354

Post by [deleted] »

akgerber wrote: post #278
skookumchuck wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Seattle I watch cyclists randomly weave from the bike lane into the car lane and back again. These are adults, not kids. It blows my mind.

There is no such thing as a 'car lane'— just general traffic lanes. Cyclists usually leave the bike lane because it's blocked by lawbreaking drivers or because they need to make a turn, not for funsies.

[deleted]

Re: One year of cycling to work

#355

Post by bhandziuk »

edejong wrote: post #320
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The classic bike/head injury is riding into a crack (or grating) that grabs the front tire and stops the bike, hurling the rider over the handlebars and hammering them headfirst into the ground.

Been there, done that. Catch yourself on your hands/elbows. If you can’t, then perhaps you should go slower over such terrain. We dutchies coast on average around 20 km/h (12.5 mph). Anyone going above 30 is deemed “racing bicyclist” and they usually do wear helmets. They are a class on their own and are often hated by car drivers, since they think they have the road for themselves.

It sounds like your recommended safety practice is basically not to get hurt and if something does happen to have the strength to stop yourself form flying over the handles bars unexpectedly. This is not a good long term solution. Maybe if you're putzing around town that works ok but if you are ever riding in traffic or at speed this is a recipe for disaster.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#356

Post by jacquesm »

alsetmusic wrote: post #178
sandover wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead. I've gone 15,000 miles safely in dense urban environments because I am heads-up about the 2 main threats: intersections, and the door zone.

> Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead. Please don’t do this. During the time that I commuted on a bicycle, it was very frustrating when other cyclists didn’t follow the rules of the road (zipping through stop signs is another example). It causes resentment in drivers. This leads to aggressive behavior towards cyclists.

I don't care how much resentment it causes that should never result in aggressive behavior towards cyclists.

As if one cyclists behavior should or could influence a vehicle operators behavior towards other people sharing the road. Utterly ridiculous. Anybody that is not capable of keeping their emotions bottled up to the point where they will take out their frustrations on unprotected bags of fluid from within a ton+ of armor should be relieved of their license.

If you can't safely pass your place is clear: behind the other traffic.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#357

Post by jacknews »

moosekaka wrote: post #173
jacknews wrote: post #11

conclusion: what a lovely route, choosing to cycle it isn't even a decision, especially as the other options seems to take longer. The author is super lucky and I'm jealous. I cycle to work too, but in a busy city.

I would cycle to work if: i) the route was FLAT ii) the weather was DRY (no rain, sleet, snow)

You could consider an electric bike to deal with hills.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#358

Post by Tomte »

kazinator wrote: post #349
Tomte wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it isn‘t legal to ignore a red light. How did you get that idea?

"Going through" a red light is not the same as "ignoring". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop Treating a red light as a stop sign is different from behaving as if it's not there. In many provinces of Canada, motorists can turn right on a red light after coming to a full stop.

Still illegal in Germany.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#359

Post by dkarl »

rconti wrote: post #352
dkarl wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a good question. In my climate, eight months out of the year it's impossible to ride for more than twenty minutes without getting sweaty, but I find that most days don't need a full shower to freshen up. Just take a washcloth with you, get it wet, and do a once-over when you change clothes. Re-apply deodorant and you're fine. There are still a lot of days (almost every day in the height of summer) where it's so…

Good clothes help. I wear a lot of icebreaker merino wool stuff (yes, even t-shirts) and they simply never stink. But I also commute in 'normal' cotton/poly clothes. True "workout" gear stinks to high heaven. I'm not sure what they put in gym shirts and shorts but once you sweat, it's all over. Don't wear that stuff when commuting to work! Normally I commute in a t-shirt, a merino sweater/sweatshirt, and jeans with b…

Wool works great for me as well. The old synthetic stuff (say, ten years ago) used to just get smellier and smellier until it would gross you out straight out of the washer. Newer synthetics aren't as bad, but they're still stinkier than wool.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#360

Post by bhandziuk »

justsomedood wrote: post #273
bhandziuk wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I biked in today after it snowed maybe 4 inches last night. If i had studded tires it would have been nicer but my slicks do pretty well. And really if there is ice few tires will really protect you from slipping. The thing that gets me is roads that are sort of driven on. Heavily trafficked roads are great because cars usually expose the bare concrete and roads with no cars are great because you can ride th…

Studded tires make a significant different in ice, and can help to get our of those ice ruts as well. I went down enough times in the ice to move to carbide studded snow tires and it helped a lot. My bike commute is a lot farther now though (~20 miles) so I have downgraded to a fair weather cyclist.

I should really get some of these. I keep trying to "muscle through" but...it sucks.
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