Bike Commuter Journal – Secret to Success
Friday, June 13 by JerryFoster
Please welcome Brian Clissold as our guest commuter this week, a trustee of the WWBPA and a resident of East Windsor. A version of this post appeared on his blog, Roadmaestro. Brian, what’s your secret?
Here it is?wait for it?.wait for it???CONSISTENCY!!
Yep, that?s it. That?s my big piece of advice for folks who want to commute by bike. Just like any other lifestyle change, it?s the act of doing it over and over, until it becomes routine, that makes it part of your life.
Now, it?s not that easy. ?Sticking with it? is all rainbows and unicorns. What it really means is getting into the routine the night before, or even the week before, by packing clothes, packing lunches, mid-morning snacks (I always get hungry by 10 am when I commute), baby wipes, figuring out the timing, the logistics of parking, when you?re going to apply make up (if that?s necessary), bicycle maintenance, and what to do with all the extra cash you?ll be saving by not buying gas. Whew! It doesn?t sound so easy after all. If you?re content with just learning this concept and can figure out the details, you can be done reading now and go for a bike ride. If you need some more tips, read on.
My ride is just long enough that I prefer to ride in bike clothes rather than my work clothes. So, Sunday night I try to make sure I have enough bike clothes clean for the week. I also make sure I have a day or two of work clothes. The weekend is also when I do any touch up maintenance: pump up the tires, lube the chain, make any minor adjustments, etc. Lights get charged and fresh batteries as needed.
Each night I pack my bike bag (one rear pannier, or a bag that mounts to a rear rack on my bike) with the next day?s work clothes, hair goop, a towel, my headphones, reading material for the train. Much of this stuff just stays in the bag. I also bring in my thermos and water bottle from my bike, and make the coffee so it starts automatically in the morning.
In the morning, I shower, pack my pannier the rest of the way with my lunch, put on my bike clothes, fill my thermos and water bottle, turn on the lights, and head out. Once I reach the train station, I put my bike in its locker, go into the station and change into my work clothes, and get on the train. I take my stuff with me to the office so I can hang my clothes to dry. Also, I change back into my bike clothes in the train bathroom on the way home so I can get right on the bike and get home.
So this is kind of a lot of work, but I?ve been doing this long enough now that it is more of a nuisance to change out of the routine than to stick with it. The rare days that I have to drive to work really throw me off now, both in terms of the routine and also in my mindset. Driving is such a headache!
I should definitely add that my routine is supported by my amazing wife Abbi, who helps me out in a variety of ways, such as putting away leftovers in single serve containers to make it easy to toss them in, doing laundry, and being generally supportive! Thanks Hunny!!
There are a million tips for bike commuters, especially for newbies. I highly recommend spending some time on the blog, bikecommuters.com There is lots of good stuff there, from equipment reviews to riding tips for bad weather.
Go pack your stuff and start to make riding to work part of your daily, weekly, and monthly routine. It is an amazing lifestyle choice!!
Thanks Brian – if you’d like to share your bike commuting stories, please email wwbikeped@gmail.com.
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