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March 31, 2005
My first year of bicycle commuting
Last year in March I had decided that I was going to commute to work by bicycle. I had been sitting in front of a computer every day and most evenings and began to see my health deteriorate. I knew I had to do something as my eyes got worse, my middle section was ballooning out and walking a flight of stairs left me winded.
In my view commuting by bicycle was the perfect answer because if I was going to be exercising anyway, I might as well make it practical and combine my exercise with getting to a destination. Riding a bicycle is a good form of exercise because it is not hard on the knees and it can really work the cardio-vascular system. Over the past year I’ve experienced many benefits, like increased mobility, fitness and happiness. Yes, riding a bike is fun! I wonder how many times in the past I could have said I was having fun commuting to work in my car.
I rode my bike almost the entire year, even in the winter. I started out riding in the Spring, and by June I was extending my rides before and after work. Part of the reason I extended the distance was because I started getting in better shape and it felt good. I discovered the joy of exploring alternate routes on my bike and it wasn’t killing me.
Now looking back on the year, I ask myself, “What was it like riding a bike all year?” Here are some answers, or relevant facts about bicycle commuting as I experienced it:
1. I saved a lot of money on gas. I have logged in over 4000 miles on my bike in the past year. My car gets about 15mpg or less, so I would have used 4000 / 15 = 266.666 gallons of gas. At $2.00 per gallon that would be a whopping $533.33 dollars I have saved. Of course these numbers are conservative and could fluctuate, but it’s a real savings that would have been burned up by my car had I been driving. What could you do with 533 dollars? And that does not even include wear and tear on the vehicle and maintenance savings. I’ve found there is very little that can go wrong with a bike that needs major work, so repairs are simple and minor and a lot less expensive than most automobile repairs.
2. I feel better. After my first year of bicycle commuting, I am in better shape than when I started. When we have a practice fire drill at work, I handle the stairs without dying. When I ride now, I can go much longer distances without feeling like I’ve been through the ringer. I’m now contemplating several one hundred to one hundred fifty mile bike tours, which I wouldn’t have even dreamed about a year ago.
3. I am seeing the city like I’ve never seen it before. Once last fall on my way into work I was riding along the beautiful bike trail on Shepard Road, close to Fort Snelling. There along the path, about 20 feet away from me was a fox. He was just standing there watching the wheels go by. What a beautiful sight that I wouldn’t have even had a chance to see if I had been in my car. It made my day. I am also getting to know the terrain of the city much better because navigating on a bicycle, I am much more connected with the process of travelling from point A to point B. I know where every hill is and every downhill and blind curve is. The colors are more vivid and I see things I had not seen before. In a car I felt much more isolated and the hills were effortless so I didn’t notice the changes as much.
4. I stopped complaining about Minnesota winters. As impossible as it seems, I rode my bike almost all winter and it was not impossible. It was only really bad about 4 days out of this year. Dressed properly, like for any winter sport, it’s pleasant. When Spring arrived this year, I wasn’t dreading winter so the transition was different. It meant I could wear less layers, but I had been having the fun of riding my bicycle all year. Spring didn’t mean the ‘beginning’ of the bicycle commuting season but a continuation in my enjoyment.
5. It doesn’t take a lot of gear to bicycle commute so it’s not a huge investment like a car is. There is of course the bike. Bikes run anywhere from Free to expensive. $1500 dollars is a very nice bike. That seems like a lot, but considering a bike is not just a fun toy, it’s a vehicle, a mode of transportation, that’s cheap! Bikes also require a lot less maintenance so annual costs are lower than cars. But I didn’t spend that much on my bike. I bought my bike for about 250 dollars used and it’s been really great. Then I had to buy a helmet because I didn’t want to fall and crack my head open. That was about 20 some dollars. We often see people wearing special cycling clothing, which is nice but not really necessary for bicycle commuting. I often just wear street clothes or when I want to work hard and get some serious exercise in, I’ll dress for exercise and change when I get to my destination. I didn’t need to buy a special license to ride a bike, just hop on and go. For added carrying capacity a person could buy special racks and bags for a bike, called panniers, but for almost everything I just used a backpack. It was easy and portable and handled the things I needed to haul back and forth to work.
6. The air we breathe is a little cleaner because my car has been contributing less and less pollution to the environment we live in. If everyone commuted by bicycle even just a few times per year, it’s a significant break for mother nature.
7. I have met a lot of new friends this year. It seems that people with bikes have a special connection. It’s also easier to socialize with other cyclists as we meet on the streets because we aren’t as isolated by car windows that provide a barrier.
What was it like riding my bike all year? It was a great year for me and I had a lot of fun doing it! I hope that I have many more. As I begin my second year of bicycle commuting, I may make some minor adjustments and improve my carrying capacity, but other than that I think it will be another banner year. Like the saying about riding a bike: once you learn how, you never forget. I hope that others would just try it a few times and catch a glimpse of what I have experienced this year. I feel like it’s actually changing my life. It is good for the mind, body and soul!
Posted by carl1236 at March 31, 2005 05:07 PM | Bicycles
Comments
Congrats on surviving the year John. I agree with every word of this post, but I've only been at it for 8 or 9 months.
Posted by: Jim at March 31, 2005 09:33 PM
Re-cycled in-car-nation! Congrats on making the leap. Ive been commuting by bike for 6 years and cant imagine any other way. After living in Duluth, Marquette and Lansing MI (currently), I can relate to your winter war stories too. Keep the rubber side down bro!!
Posted by: Jeremy at May 3, 2005 08:29 PM
Thanks Jim and Jeremy for the comments. As I write this, I'm reflecting on the last drive I took in my motorized vehicle. It's ironic that I used it to haul 21 donated bikes to the community bike shop that we'll be fixing and putting back out on the streets. And then there's the day I had a meeting during the work day that was 10 miles away. Then I rode with someone else to a bike shop after work, then back home. That made my riding day a 60-plus mile day and I was tired! But now I look forward to more days like that. I just have to figure out how to deal with sweat for those meetings. I'm thinking about wearing a cycling shirt and carrying a work shirt to change into when I get to my destination. Or get there at least 15 minutes ahead of time to cool off before I go in.
Posted by: John at May 3, 2005 10:38 PM
Agree totally with your post. However, I do wear bicycle jersey's when commuting to work here in Austin Tx. The more obnoxious, the better, I've got a pink Poka-dot jersey. I find that they make me more visible, they're very cool in the summer months and motorists right or not, seem to consider you more of a serious cyclist and therefore respect you more. As Lance has said of Austin, it's not a safe city to cycle in.
Posted by: Scott Simmons at August 6, 2005 09:41 AM
Yeah, I think Jersey's are a good idea for all of those reasons. I like the pockets in back too for training rides outside of my commuting. Sweat is another big issue and those shirts really help lift the sweat off and dry off faster. When I wear a t-shirt or other cotton shirt, water just hangs in it and stays drenched for a long time. Lately I've been judging what to wear by how late I am, haha. If I need to get to work fast or to a meeting or something, and don't have time to change I just go. Now that I'm mostly car free my perspectives on riding are changing slightly. It's becoming more natural and I'm not thinking like I'm a new convert or in transition anymore. I've caught myself automatically calculating biking time to get somewhere. It's very interesting and I like it. I'm feeling good physically too.
Thanks for the comments Scott. I was in Austin a few times when I was younger, while stationed at Ft. Hood. I thought Austin was pretty cool. It's on my list of places to see again someday. Keep up the cycling. It's good for all of us.
Posted by: John at August 6, 2005 10:32 AM
I'd like to ask your opinion. If you're riding along to work on a fairly busy road with a traffic light with 30 or more cars lined up, do you normally wait your turn in line? Or do you breeze past the lined up cars. I've heard reasons for and against. For, of course because you can. Against, because you may force some motorists to pass you twice, or simply passing them may make a motorist beligerent towards you. So far, commuting has been a total joy, I'm commuting 5 days a week now-when it doesn't rain.
Scott
Posted by: Scott Simmons at August 26, 2005 10:48 PM
Hi Scott! Thanks for the comments. I usually wait my turn like the rest of traffic unless I'm one or two cars from the front, then sometimes I'll zip up along the curb. But most of the time I'm happy if I can stay with traffic and take the lane. I think it depends on the circumstances. Of course you have to pedal really hard to do that sometimes. haha.
Good job on the commuting! It's an awesome experience, I agree.
Posted by: John at August 27, 2005 09:04 AM
Well, still commuting and the Specialized Sequoia Elite I bought on July 28th had 770 miles on it. Had, because I got hit by a car today.
I was riding along Braker lane, it's a fairly busy road with a 50 mph speed limit, I was in the far right lane, the lanes on this road are less than 14 ft wide so I was "taking the lane"
Coming up on a main intersection, there was a Wendy's restaurant, no traffic was behind me, one car crossed the road, then there was this Chevy lumina, I thought the man was going to stop, I tried to make eye contact with him but was prevented by all the reflections on his car window. Anyway, as I got within 10 feet of him he began pulling forward at a pretty fast clip, I was in front of him and he hit me from the side, throwing my bike across 2 lanes. I hadn't had time to brake, but enough time to decide how I was going to hit. I rolled across the hood of his car. I'm fortunate, no broken bones, just my right sholder has a grade 1 seperation-not even enough to pick up on x-ray.
The man was fairly shook up and voluntarily gave all of his info, now I only have to deal with his insurance company State Farm. At this time I don't have any intention of hiring an attorney unless they try to jerk me around. I'm happy with them covering my medical, a small amount for pain and suffering and replacement of my bike. I was doing everything right, yet I still got hit. I"m gonna get a new bike asap and keep on riding, this won't put me down.
Posted by: Scott Simmons at September 13, 2005 01:44 AM
Wow Scott! I am happy to hear you are still alive. Maybe we all need air horns on our bikes or something to wake people up. One of those modern bull-horns with noises should work.
Seriously, I think a lot of people are distracted while driving and not paying attention to what's around them. Too bad they are driving a bulldozer when they are.
Anyway, take it easy Scott, hope you recover swiftly.
John
Posted by: John at September 13, 2005 06:52 AM