The Road to Fitville 9.5: the bike commute challenge
[That's Fit blogger Larissa Brown chronicles her journey to health and fitness through this regular weekly feature. Her first milestone was a two-day relay race in August. Now she's heading into a new challenge.]As summer spills into fall in Portland, Oregon, we probably have about six weeks of sunny weather left and everyone knows it. It seems the whole city is both slowing down and trying to pack in a record number of barbecues and yard sales. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance takes advantage of this outside-obsessed time of year to launch its annual Bike Commute Challenge. The challenge offers friendly competition to get people biking instead of driving to work. It pits companies against one another and individuals against their own internal sloths.
When a coworker asked me to join, the timing could not have been better. The bike commute challenge is going to carry me through this critical period right after my big relay race, when all my motivation is threatening to go out the window along with the fear and anxiety that kept me training so faithfully for the Hood to Coast.
So today I began. And it was not just like riding a bike.
I've written before about my sometimes comical fear of big downhills, and the bicycle assertiveness training program my husband invented for me. I relied on that old training today when I took my first bike commute of the fall. And so riding the bike was okay, and in fact pretty lovely.
It was the packing that stunk. It took forever. I started getting ready to leave at 9:22am and after pumping up my tires, trying unsuccessfully to get the grease off my hands, looking for my neglected helmet and lock, packing up my laptop, changing a random diaper, saying goodbye to little Binx, and rolling up my pantlegs, it was 10:00am when I hit the road. Forty minutes! Not. Sustainable. If that persists I'll miss every staff meeting this month (hmmm, maybe not such a bad idea?)
To help me out, there are several good web sites about bike commuting. Paul Dorn's site is particularly thorough and a great resource. A few like MassBike to work and this epinions page have tips about storing clothes at the office and how to respond to changes in your plans. But I haven't found one that describes a good system for getting ready to go. For example, I already see that I should designate a certain bike bag for commuting and keep key items at the ready in there.
Maybe I'm the only one with this problem. I think I just need to get used to it. If you bike commute, how do you do it? Any tips for a returning biker?
[Photo by criana.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-06-2006 @ 7:10PM
bottleman said...
Way to go with the biking. The routine will get faster with practice, no question.
In terms of making the whole commuting system simpler, gear can make a difference, but maybe more important is how you use the gear. My experience boils down to this: have only one bag, try to have everything you need in that bag, and try not to switch to other bags even when you're switching modes of transport. It's when you're switching junk between bags -- say, a purse and a pannier -- that stuff gets lost and the process slows down.
Choose your weapon: Panniers are most comfortable for riding but worst for carrying around -- those waterproof Ortleib ones are sweet.
Messenger bags are simple and sturdy and good for walking around but put all the weight on one shoulder -- so if you've got a heavy package it can be bothersome, especially if you're not a super cyclist.
Backpacks don't usually hold as much as messenger bags but keep the weight much more evenly spread, making balance easier.
Recently I got a nice gift - a Timbuktu laptop backpack - and I'm pretty sold on it, especially because of the balance thing. It's big enough to hold my laptop and a day's worth of junk. I've got dedicated pockets for my phone and my wallet and two little side pockets hold a leatherman/bike tool.
Other bike gear I try to leave on my bike or on my helmet. I leave my lock on my bike and I put my lights on my helmet -- very geeky, I know -- but that way I'm not always looking for them and taking them on and off.
If you do stuff like this and stick with your one bag even if you're walking or driving you can get going pretty fast.
The only problem is a certain loss of elegance. That super backpack that's perfect for biking isn't always going to be perfect for the office. As for putting lights on a helmet, I can't imagine ANYONE who would look good in that, but it does keep you from losing them.
Good luck!
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9-06-2006 @ 9:10PM
Dave said...
I try to ride my bike as much as I can to work. It is a little over 5 miles and my route takes me right through the middle of downtown Houston. I can tell you that it gets easier to figure out how to manage the packing, the preparation, and dealing with the extra time it can take. Some thoughts about things you mention:
I do not drive my bicycle to work ever day so this helps me, when I can plan ahead a little, to not have to worry about bringing everything with me every day. So I usually have clothes at work and rarely have too much in the way of heavy things to bike back and forth with.
In some ways this mixing of biking and driving has helped me to think more carefully about what I want to work on at work and what I don't want to work at while I am home. With this greater mindfulness, I can honestly say that the exercise part is only one of the health benefits I have come to enjoy from commuting part time via bicycle. I was taking to many things home from work before, not being realistic in assessing what I might work on at home, and all in all just creating more work related stress than I needed to by carrying a lot of stuff back and forth. I now leave work not worrying as much about what I might do workwise when I get home and while I am home, there is less around to prod my mind into thinking I should be getting more work done while I am home. Less guilt, less stress...I'm a lot happier.
The ride is a great mental health break to transition from home to work and then from work to home. Driving in my car, well, it is just not the same. I can leave my building, drive home, get in my apartment, and not have needed to think much about getting home. I am home physically but I never left work mentally.
I can't be so silly when I ride my bicycle. By the time I am home I have left work physically and mentally.
It will take more time to ride your bicycle. Dressing and undressing, making sure your bicycle is OK for the ride, etc. So what. You should, overall, be more productive at work because of the physical exercise you are getting. Added together with some of the other benefits I get, riding my bicycle is a great investment of the time it entails.
Dave
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10-25-2006 @ 5:51PM
Steve Fuller said...
I started commuting in March of 06. The biggest assets to getting out of the house quick in the morning for me are
A) Packing my backpack or panniers before I go to bed.
B) Having my riding clothes laid out somewhere before I go to bed.
I can get up and be out the door and on the road in 30 minutes.
I also tend to do my bike maintenance as soon as i get home and before I get distracted. Pump up the tires, put my light batteries on the charger, clean the water bottles, oil the chain, etc. It's easier for me to do it when I am still in "ride mode" and fresh on my mind, rather than having to remember in the morning.
Commuting has definitely made me more organized.
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