Long-time readers know that I occasionally ride my bike into work. If you haven't seen my previous posts on it, be sure to click here, here and here to catch up.
Go ahead. I'll wait. Really. Cuz I'm not going to repeat all that here...
(humdeedumdeedum.....deedum....dee')
Ok, now that you're duly impressed with how long my commute is, you'll understand why I've only done it a few times. Actually, I hadn't done it in a long time and with the forecast for summer weather last Friday (not to mention that it also happened to be an official Bike to Work day), I decided to do it again.
I reviewed my previous posts for a reminder of what to pack and such. But a couple of additional tips bear repeating here.
1) Plan ahead
If you know at least one day in advance that you're going to ride in, take your stuff in early:
- Office clothes (everything you'll need, unless of course you enjoy going commando)
- Set of cycling clothes
- Ride-home nutrition (e.g. 1 GU/hr)
- Any work stuff you'll need for the next day (since you don't want to have to carry files on your bike)
- Shower/clean-up stuff
- LOCK (see below)
2) Pack only what you need
Despite having done this before, I still overpacked a little for the ride in. I carried a cable lock with me, even though I'd pre-staged a U-lock at the bike rack at work. And some may disagree, but I don't bother with my "mini" tool. Perhaps cuz it's actually a "large" I'd probably pack a smaller one though.
If you've pre-staged stuff as suggested in 1) above, you should only need what you'd normally need for a long ride: flat fixin's, cellphone, money, GUs, water. Cleat covers are a bonus for walking from the bike rack to the showers (or bathroom).
Oh - and don't forget to bring your office card key if you need one, and a house key for when you get back home. No need to ask me why that's important - or how I know.
3) Once you've pre-staged once, rinse & repeat
Cool thing about doing things this way is that all you have to do to be all prepared for the next time you wanna ride in is to replace your clothes (work & cycling) the day before. Leave everything else (cleanup stuff, lock) at work.
Admittedly, this approach works best if you have a locker and a shower at your workplace. But I suspect it'd be almost as easy provided you have at least a hook to hang your clothes on and a bathroom to freshen up in.
Of course, if you have a shorter commute you could use panniers (or even a backpack) and avoid prestaging altogether. But if you want your ride into work to be as close to a "regular" ride as possible - and without the extra baggage (literally and figuratively) - try out these tips.
And be sure to let me know if you do - and if you have any additional tips to add.
Happy Commuting Riding!
I've been a normal commuter for years and I swear by the pre-commute staging. In every office I've worked in I've kept a couple pairs of pants, shirts, sweaters, and usually a pair of shoes too. Of course, I've always worked at places with a somewhat downshifted sense of formality, which helps.
I think commuting is a great way to build a solid base of fitness. People who don't commute, it seems, sometimes struggle to build fitness without that constant source of saddle time. Riding every day, or twice every day, even if it's for ten miles, really ads up, even if it's in the city. Especially if it's in a city, in fact, because you can work on all those standing-start accelerations.
It looks like you've got a really nice ride, too. I miss riding in the Connecticut River Valley area.
Posted by: matty | May 02, 2009 at 09:14 PM