Bicycling, the way to a brighter future?

[xcel]

Hi All:

___Just keeping up a blog on local miles traveled by bike vs. the Ranger P/U or Accord to and from the US Post office and such.

(2) days of riding so far. 24 miles RT with no fuel consumed

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[ksstathead]

Bravo

Add new vehicle w/ EPA = to the accord not used?

[Bike123]

I know you have supported riding instead of driving for a long time, but what convinced you to start biking? Fewer cold starts? Only way left to use less fuel? Exercise? Watching the Olympics? Whatever the motivation, good job!

[xcel]

Hi Bike123:

___I was a little nervous given this is Chicago suburbia hell but along with alternate routes in the vehicles, I found some paved and non-paved roads, sidewalks and trails into downtown Gurnee including the post office. With that, you hit it right on the head! The Olympics added a little inspiration as did some of our fellow riders here on the forum. That would be Lightfoot and Locutus. Exercise and the only thing left to do other than get an all BEV ride were also on the list as you guessed

___I did not bother getting my drivers license until I was 18 and did not own my first car until 22. I cannot even begin to describe the thousands of miles my bikes and I used to travel back to various jobs but that was as a teenager.

___At my current age, my butt, palms, neck and shoulders ache a bit but it is lessening with each ride. I hope it goes away permanently as I can pick up the pace for a real work out rather than a survival ride as I am currently doing And I hope I continue as it is a great experience all over again!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[locutus]

Very cool! Glad to see you have taken up the use-no-gas mode of transportation vs the use-very-little-gas method. The aches and pains should go away as you get back into it, like any other type of exercising I guess. Not sure what you are riding right now but if you have a full mountain bike with 2" knobbys it really slows you down! When I was commuting by bike to work (6.5 miles one way) on my mountain bike it would take 35 minutes or so. The day after I got my road bike I made the trip in 27, and got as low as 21. The so-called "hybrid" bike is a nice compromise, you get some of the speed benefits and don't give up too much in the way of a comfortable ride.

So, now that you've started logging your bike miles... when will we all be able to do that here?

[WriConsult]

Wow! 24 miles is a pretty huge first ride for someone just getting started commuting. Way to go!

And yes, the soreness in the butt, shoulders, neck, hands and butt will go away. If it really hurts it's best to take a day or two off the bike, usually enough time for the soreness to subside -- and then you'll find yourself getting less sore the next time out. It'll take a little time to adjust to a ride that long, but the body can adapt pretty quickly.

By the way, I highly recommend a mirror for riding on busy suburban arterials. Getting hit from behind is actually a pretty small risk (about 3% of serious bike crashes), but being able to keep an eye on traffic behind you -- without craning your neck and swerving into it -- does wonders for your peace of mind.

[Bike123]

You can get LRR tires (relatively narrow, high pressure slicks ~1.5", 80 psi) for 26" mtb wheels, too. It helps a lot, but a mtb is still slower than a road bike. I ride a mtb with 2" semi-slicks for most of my commuting, but I prefer a road bike if it will be over 10 miles between stops.

No FASing the engine on the bike, just leave it idling.
Humans don't restart very well!

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by xcel

...I was a little nervous given this is Chicago suburbia ...River
___At my current age, my butt, palms, neck and shoulders ache a bit but it is lessening with each ride. I hope it goes away permanently ...

I haven't read this forum long enough to know whether you have other employment outside running this site. If so, would either the employer or a community traffic agency offer incentives for cycling or other non-SOV commutes? During my most recent contract, the destination city offered a $50 gift certificate after 45 non-traditional commutes. Though I normally pedaled once or twice a week (my body cannot take 34 miles RT every day), this deal was incentive to pack in more rides.

If the butt continues to ache, or certain parts get numb (male) or raw (female), check out the many other nontraditional seat designs. DW and I both switched to seats with slots in the middle. The sit bones get less sore, and the rest is pain-free.

---
Aspiring bike commuters should look, or lobby for, rail-trails (former railroad beds) -- nearly flat, wide, off-street routes. The Burke-Gilman / Sammamish River trail between Seattle and Redmond, through the University of Washington, has enabled thousands of commuters to go by bike. Hundreds more use the Interurban trails.

[bomber991]

Well, is bicycling the way to a brighter future?

Look at it this way, Lance Armstrong had some cancer and ended up with one ball, and he turned to biking to ease his suffering of being half a man. Or something.

Anyways I can't use a bike where I'm at. Really nowhere to drive to except the grocery store, and putting 2 miles on your car to go there isn't that big a deal when you go once every 2 weeks.

Besides, seems like every little story or blog you read about someone who starts riding a bicycle, they end up getting into an accident with another car and have a scrapped arm or some broken fingers or something.

So what I'm trying to say Wayne is be careful riding that bike!

Good luck!

[xcel]

Hi All:

___Added another 24 miles this past weekend and this morning. I even went to the bank along with the USPS. I have to take some vids back this evening and if I can only figure out how to get the groceries

___48 + miles total so far

___Good Luck

___Wayne