First Time Experiences

I must admit that I was a little scared the first time I rode my bike to work. 90% of my commute involves riding in the street. I had scoped out the best routes for over a month before I decided to go for it. I now wonder why I didn’t do it sooner. I was curious to hear about my other fellow commuters’ first time experiences. Here are some questions I posed and a synopsis of their answers:

1. What did you like most about commuting by bike?
Most of the commuters cited the benefits of exercise, stress release, the fact that is non-polluting, and the best answer: Not being stuck in traffic. Trisha, the only female commuter from my company states ‘I really liked riding the river bed along side of a packed freeway, and being glad that I was not experiencing the stress of being smack dab in the middle of all that.’

2. What did you like least about commuting by bike?
Being worried about sweating and arriving stinky was in top of the list. California mornings can be weird, sometimes is cloudy and breezy and sometimes is hot. Other dislikes included unsafe routes, inconsiderate drivers and pedestrians, and bums roaming on the river trail.

3. Would you do it again? Why?
All the commuters stated that they would definitely do it again. They all like the incorporation of a work-out with their commutes.

4. Would you recommend commuting by bike to work?
Everyone would recommend commuting by bike to work; the positives outweigh the nuisances of riding to work. And once one starts commuting, you can’t stop!

The biggest hurdle of commuting by bike is actually to stop thinking about doing it and actually getting on a bike and riding to work. Once you do it once, you are hooked.