Lazy Llama wrote: Currently, 45 degrees and rain will keep me off the bike.
Did 10 miles this morning at 48 deg w/ light rain and it was not bad. I would recommend having a go of it as it was really not bad. Almost refreshing, although I wore three layers (wicking t shirt, long sleeve shirt, light water resistant (not proof!) jacket) so I was a bit overdressed.
jump the shark alert wrote:
Get a thermos, and keep a coffee cup at work.
Genius. I'm going to go get a thermos tonight!
i've been biking to work since 1993...it's 10 miles round trip. i usually get up and run before work, come home and shower, then ride in. i used to shower at work after riding in but i struggle to get on the bike when i'm the least bit cold and i'm usually cold after a run and the shower helps. it's short enough that even if i sweat, it's not that bad. i keep all my work shoes in the office and pack my clothes and lunch in a backpack.
people think it's how i stay in shape which is really comical. there is no way i'd stay in shape with 2 20-25 min rides per day. people think that if you are not in a car, you are working out.
in the past couple of months, between gas prices and the need to get biking in for the triathlon season, i've biked to as many places as i can. turns out that most of the places i need to go are within 2-15 miles of my home. i've ridden to 3 5ks, group runs, and lots of errands. i haven't put gas in my car since early april and i still have almost 1/2 tank.
bike temp experimenter wrote:
Lazy Llama wrote: Currently, 45 degrees and rain will keep me off the bike.Did 10 miles this morning at 48 deg w/ light rain and it was not bad. I would recommend having a go of it as it was really not bad. Almost refreshing, although I wore three layers (wicking t shirt, long sleeve shirt, light water resistant (not proof!) jacket) so I was a bit overdressed.
I'm actually OK with the upper body part. When I've ridden in the cold rain before (and been chilled to the bone) it's really my legs that are the problem. Do you have any recommendations there? I really havent't cone much research on it, so there might be something obvious i'm not aware of.
I'm running some winter tights (they would be hot if you were running at 30 deg) under lined cargo shorts. I keep my feet warm in some wool socks (if it gets too much below freezing I will run neoprene boot liners in between my socks and the retired running shoes I bike in.
Those tights and shorts keep me warm to below freezing. I tend to overdress because I figure it's better to not bail out from not wanting to get out in the initial cold. Then I just sweat more later. I know this is not conventional wisdom but it works for me. Plus the more I do it, the less I realize I need, and then I migrate closer to the ideal slightly-cool-to-start.
I haven't tested in a true downpour yet, unfortunately. I only recently fixed my truck to operate in wet conditions and it hasn't poured coincident with a commute yet.
I would like to bike but it's 22 miles round trip, goes through a heavy traffic area with no shoulder or bike lane, and I am not a strong cyclist (I feel less tired running 6 miles than biking 2 miles on hills). Also there are no showers at work. I'd be willing to try to become a better cyclist and occasionally take an even longer route with less traffic, but my bike is crap and I'm not ready to drop the money on something that has been quite unenjoyable to me thus far. If I could try using a better bike for a few weeks before paying hundreds of dollars, I'd be more likely to give it a try.
They make raingear for cycling. All that I've tried are too warm for anything more than the most pedestrian pace. Cool and rainy is difficult to dress for because you can become chilled very easily while it rains and over warm if the rain stops. For the specific conditions you describe I'd start with heavy weight running tights and a running jacket on top. I might carry my cold weather cycling pants (water resistant and windproof front panel with heavy stretch knit back panel) as a backup plan.
If you know how to look, you can get a decent bike (a used hybrid, say) for $200 or so. A good bikes can make it a lot easier...
My lab is at the top of a hill -- it takes me about 25 minutes to bike up to work (and it's a killer ride), 5 minutes to bike home. I've only biked up on the weekends or when the shuttle bus isn't running -- it's a lot easier to just put your bike on the front or back of the shuttle bus on the way up and ride home.
I ride to work pretty much every day. There is a large college campus between my home and my workplace, and the only roads that run through campus run east and west while I'm traveling north and south, so I can't drive through it. So I can either drive the whole way around campus in anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes depending on how bad traffic is, or I can bike in a guaranteed 5.
I bike between 1x to 5x a week. It is 24 miles round trip. Takes about 50 minutes with all the traffic lights. There are buses that take bikes, so if I feel lazy in the afternoon I can take the bus.
The distance is just long enough that I feel a bit tired and don't always feel like running after a round trip.
I live about 5 miles from work, and my town is flat as a pancake. I picked up a cheap fixed gear track bike and jam to work in about 12-15 min most mornings, which is about 2-5min slower than driving. Rough roads with no shoulder, I stopped hugging the white line without a shoulder and gave myself a solid 18" and cars started to respect my presence. Best choice I have made in a while.
I've been a bike commuter for 20 years.
Currently only a 4 mile ride RT. I take the long way home to make it a decent trip.
At my old job, they had a rideshare incentive program. Biking or walking gave you the most points. I worked there for nine years, and accumulated enough points to get four trips to Hawaii.
Our office of about 29 is having a Bike to Work Month contest, competing with the company's other offices in other cities. More than half the office signed up (16) and averaged 4.2 round trips by bike per person last week.
It's 1.5 miles to work by residential streets,trail, and multi-use path for me. It probably takes less time to get to work by bike than by car because there's no traffic by bike and the drive distance is longer at 2+ miles. I've actually never driven my car to work. In the summer I bike or run, and in the winter, I run, bike, or cross country ski to work.
There is a creek that runs from next to my home to a few yards from my office. I might do a raft to work someday for the heck of it, and a few years back the creek ice was smooth enough from repeated overflows for ice skating, so I'll have to do that someday too.
I started riding about 6 weeks ago - it is about 20 miles round trip. The toughest part is the hill - it is a 250 foot increase in altitude over approximately half a mile. I don't ride that hard, so I don't get all sweaty. I pack my clothes in a cheap duffle bag and strap it to the back of my bike - I have an old miata road bike and a cannondale. They're only 21 speeds, which I've maxed out, so I am thinking that it is time for a new bike. I work in the public sector, so I'm trying to get access to the workout facilities in Public Safety for showers when it gets hotter.
I do it mostly because a guy in his 60's challenged me to do it. I enjoy it now because I have regulars on my ride every morning that I say hello to - they encourage me and I encourage them.
gonzo wrote:
No, it's impractical. It's a sixty mile round trip and the roads I COULD Bike on would make it longer. I have to be at work at 6:30AM, so I'd have to get up around 4AM or so.
Not necessarily impractical. Some guys on bikeforums go that distance. Are bicycles really forbidden on the roads you described? I imagine that the traffic on any road that early wouldn't be bad at all. Or you could move closer to work.
I'm not judging your decision, by the way, but there have been times when I've heard a completely different perspective that opened my eyes (I would have said that 100-mile weeks were "impractical" before letsrun).
I have a short, easy commute on bicycle now, but it won't be doable this summer (no way am I moving for a 3-month internship, and there's a good bus route, anyway)
Just picked up a bike (a folding Dahon that stuffs into a bag; my building doesn't allow cycles) for this purpose as well as other errands and general commuting. Was quickly reminded that running muscles are not cycling muscles!
Would be taking the subway to work otherwise. That's cheap and convenient - cycling is more about making better use of time. Why not get exercise and sun and air for the same 30-40 minutes I'd otherwise be on the train. Though now much closer to 100% of my reading will take place in the bathroom.
Where do you work? I'm jealous. I've started biking also this week. I used to be a regular when I lived like 3 miles from work, then I moved and it was up to 7 miles which I also did fairly frequently. Then I moved again and now its 9mi and that seemed to be my breaking point, but I'm pushing through that. I can get to work in 30 minutes pretty comfortably on a single speed, which is ironically about as long as it takes for me in the car. Gotta love driving in and around Beantown.
Have been running/cycling/riding the bus to work and/or college since 2000.
If your place of employment does not have a shower facility, then keep a towel and change of clothes at work and take a hobo bath in the men's room (ie: wash cloth, soap, water, wash yo self).
My job just started a bike program run by FreeWheelin. Basically you can have card access to these bike racks that have two types of bikes: 3-speed automatic Trek "Lime" (which suck for anything other than downtown commuting) or 21 speed Trek "FX" commuter bikes. A lot of associates are using these bikes to/from work. You check out a bike, then return it the next business day. With card access they have all of your contact info in case you decide to try and "steal" a bike.
Alan
Runningart2004 wrote:
Have been running/cycling/riding the bus to work and/or college since 2000.
If your place of employment does not have a shower facility, then keep a towel and change of clothes at work and take a hobo bath in the men's room (ie: wash cloth, soap, water, wash yo self).
My job just started a bike program run by FreeWheelin. Basically you can have card access to these bike racks that have two types of bikes: 3-speed automatic Trek "Lime" (which suck for anything other than downtown commuting) or 21 speed Trek "FX" commuter bikes. A lot of associates are using these bikes to/from work. You check out a bike, then return it the next business day. With card access they have all of your contact info in case you decide to try and "steal" a bike.
Alan
Do you work for Humana? Last time I was down in our Louisville office I saw posters that may have been for this program (I didn't look all that close)
Yep. I work for the fitness center. We do most of the leg work for the program, giving out helmets, access cards, etc. There are 3 racks in downtown Louisville, total of I believe 30-40 bikes.
Alan