Bicycle Commuting 101

Route
One of the first things to do is make sure you plan your course. Look at
your course to and from work. Watch out for heavy traffic areas as well
as road hazards. Also make sure you have a bail out route just incase
you experience street closures, and accidents.

Being Prepared

Being the trooper that you are, you will need to be fully prepared for
your commuting experience.

Get a Bag

You can easily pick up a nice large back pack from your local Wal-mart
for less than $15.00. When you shop for your bag, check the quality of
the stitching and gauge to see if it can handle up to 10lbs of load from
all your stuff that you stick in there.

If you don’t like having your back sweaty, try checking around for a messenger bag.
The’re bit more pricey but they do keep you back dryer for the most part.

Work Clothes

What I do is make sure I iron all my clothes the night before and fold
them neatly and put them in my bag. You can roll up your clothes and
place them in your bag to save room, but I found that flat folding is
the best way to keep wrinkles away.

Another option is to bring your clothes to your work on the days you
don’t ride your bike. If that’s not an option, get a rack and panniers
for commuting.

Lights

You will need some lights to see and to be seen. I wrote a great review
for the Cygolite Night Rovers on Blue Collar MTB.com,
that I purchased from Ebay. You will also need a rear tail light.
Pricepoint.com has a inexpensive LED tail light for as low as $5.

Pump/Patch Kit and Tools

Even though you may not get a flat from thorns on the pavement, you will
still need to carry some essentials for your bike. Bring your pump, a
patch kit and of course tools. You will never know what kind of problems
you will experience in the concrete jungle

Lock

If you’re boss won’t allow you to bring your bike into your office and
have it sit next to your desk, then you better get a lock. OnGuard Locks
area a great deal! I have the Doberman 5027. This lock is backed by a
lifetime warranty that protects you from any manufacturer’s defects. One
time my key broke inside the tumbler and they replaced it for free. They
even have a protection plan that will cover your bike costs up to $4000
in case theft has occurred while being protected by an OnGuard Lock.

Personal Hygiene

Do all of your co-workers a favor and make sure you take care of this
issue. If you don’t have a shower at work, then here’s what has helped
me.

I make sure I take a shower in the morning and then use a nifty little
product called, “Crystal Body Deodorant.” The Crystal stick works great
because it prevents odor causing bacteria to develop once it’s been
applied. You put this stuff on just like a regular deodorant right after
your shower. Put it under your arms, your feet and yes….even your
“boys.” Basically you use the Crystal anywhere that you don’t want
becoming stinky.

When you do get to work, you’re most likely going to be sweaty, but not
stinky because of the Crystal. So in order to clean up, bring a bar of
soap with you in a zip lock bag and a wash cloth. Wash yourself good,
making sure you wash your sweaty head, arms and chest. Then splash on a
bit of cologne.

If that’s too much trouble, I’ve heard of people using baby wipes. But
if smelling like a baby isn’t your thing, then get some Lever 2000 Body
Wipes. You get 40 for $3.00

The Payoff

Now that you’re finally at work and cleaned up, you can start thinking
about how much money you saved by riding your bike to work. To figure
this out, you can easily download an Excel Spread Sheet that my team
mate created to help us calculate how much money we do save.

Money is a great motivator for anyone, but there are plenty of benefits
from biking to work, here’s a few:
1. Your health improves
2. Lose weight
3. You get to ride your bike
4. You save tons of cash
5. You arrive to work and get home, stress free!