Nervous about commuting.

8200rpm

What kind of distances are you guys commuting???

I'm considering bicycle commuting but my ONE-WAY trip will be 22 miles. The geography is 16 miles of coastal highway (virtually no elevation gain) then 6 miles inland with rolling hills... climbs and drops.

BTW, that Surly is a SWEET bike.

poweredbysweat

8 miles one-way, but I often do some other additional riding.

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Jim
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buckybux

I have two work sites, one is 22 miles one way, the other is 5 miles one way. I have at least one 500' hill to climb, usually on the way home.

rayhuang

Good reading, especially with a 3-month update!! I am going to drive my route I planned and see how it is at 8:30am and 5pm. Ive ridden portions of many times, but only on weeknights and weekends. Where I work is in an industrial park, so theres metal, concrete debris, big trucks, semis on the last 3 miles of the ride (no sidewalks, busy street) all the time. As bicycle unfriendly as you can imagine. I could do the 20+ mile commute on a mountain bike which would alleviate the no sidwalk thing, but it wouldnt be long before I quite commuting if I had to ride my MTB. I just like riding my road bikes!! NOw to see how cheaply I can build up a commuter bike, cost IS AN OBJECT!!

pspurr

Thanks for the information. I have read thru the entire thread and was happy to see the transformation. I love two things about biking. The freedom and the bikes themselves. Art science and a little individualism makes each person's ride a fun extension.

One warning that I have. Pedestrians. If someone mentioned them in the thread, I overlooked it. They will cause you trouble because for the most part they don't register a bicycle as a danger, and often have no idea how fast you are going.

I have a new bike coming soon. My ideal commuter was trashed on a Sunday ride a while back, and I have waited to fund the new ride. I had a Rivendell Atlantis which took the brunt of a head on with an inexperienced bike rider who made the same mistake I see in folks walking around. She crossed in front of me on a bike path when I was in top gear spinning along. Good luck and keep on riding!

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NuCommuter

Nearly 6-month update:

I continue truly to enjoy commuting, and have begun planning a first commute to my farthest-flung worksite--120 miles away (I started a thread on the touring forum about it). Even better, my wife went nuts for Father's Day and bought us a gorgeous Co-motion tandem bike. With crank shorteners and the seat all the way down it can fit our 8 year old girl too. We all had a wonderful time in Maine on this bike (Acadia Nat'l Park) a couple of weeks ago. I'm looking forward to tandem group rides and rallies. My poor car spends almost all its days now parked in the driveway, as I increasingly do errands and shopping by bike too.

I take to heart that advice about pedestrians--poor Rivendell! Those are awfully pretty bikes, though the Vanilla website makes me drool even more.

Thanks again to all those here who encouraged me when I was nervous to restart biking. It's once more assumed its place as one of the more joyful parts of my life. As a nice side effect, the leg and hip strength I've gained from pedaling has improved my comfort and performance in my primary sport (kayak ocean marathon racing), and my knees actually feel better than before (I'm hardly running now, but continue skateboarding). Hurst's book remains my bible, and I've given copies to several friends.

NuCommuter