Commuting To Work By Bike: As Many Different Ways To Do It As There Are People

The New York Times, and the Atlantic have two awesome stories of bike commuting.

Having sheathed his legs in NASA-worthy Capo bib shorts — woven from high-tech fibers that compress leg muscles to minimize fatigue — he pulled on a pair of winter cycling tights lined with fleece from the waist to the thighs. Next came over-the-calf Smartwool ski socks under Sidi Genius 5.5 shoes strategically packed with chemical toe warmers. To shield his torso, he wore a wool base layer under an Italian long-sleeve racing jersey, and a windproof vest reinforced in front to block freezing gusts and meshed in the back to vent excess heat. On his head, an Assos Fuguhelm racing cap with vents on top to minimize sweating, and a pair of Oakley Jawbones sunglasses. The final touch: a pair of $19 insulated work gloves, coated with beeswax to make them water resistant.

Fastening his helmet, Mr. Edstrom stepped outside and into early-morning indigo. In a minute he was rolling down the driveway of his snow-covered Cape-style house, his headlights aglow, on a 40-mile journey to his workplace, JPMorgan, at One Chase Manhattan Plaza, a trip he would make entirely on a Zanconato cyclocross bicycle. (via)

But everyone who bikes in New York or any other city has certain things in common. The Type-A strivers on their carbon-fiber steeds; the skinny-jeans-wearing fixie riders; the elevator repairman in work clothes on his anonymous hybrid; the fashionable businesswoman on her folder; the 82-year-old photographer on his cruiser. All of them benefit from an increased recognition that bicycles are a legitimate way to get from one place to another, and that you don’t have to be some kind of a freak to use them.

That recognition is not merely symbolic. It becomes very tangible in the form of protected bicycle infrastructure, such as the trails cited in the Times article, and in pro-bicycle regulations — such as the Bicycle Access to Office Buildings Law, instituted in 2009, which requires many office buildings to grant access to bikes.

All of these factors have combined to double the number of bicycle commuters in New York between 2007 and 2011, according to New York City Department of Transportation figures. The DOT aims for 2017 levels to be triple the 2007 numbers. It looks like there’s a good chance of meeting that goal. Most of those new riders won’t be in the Lycra-clad suburbanite demographic (although let’s give those people a round of applause). No, most new riders will be average people on average bikes, maybe not worthy of a feature in the Times, but perhaps more valuable in their very ordinariness.(via)

As I have been seeing dozens of cyclists out on the streets over some of the worst weather Boston has seen in years, I am excited to see how many hundreds of new cyclists show up once the weather gets nice again.

What is your commuting story?

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Funny Thing…

I try not to let my mind wander too much on my morning commute, but one thing I can’t help but notice is all the other cyclists.  I “register” them real fast, male/female/other,  tall/short/other, fast/slow/in my way, etc.  In the same way I try to register cars when I quickly look over my shoulder white/sedan/fast, etc.  Its just a little game I play with myself, and I like looking at good looking people, and cyclists are very often good looking people.

Funny thing is over the last couple weeks I would say my morning commute has become almost 100% female.  I don’t really know why this would be, is it the part of town I live in, the time I ride to work, a massive upswing in the number of female cyclists…its just strange.

Have you noticed any large shift in the makeup of the people you ride to work with every day?  Do you see the same people every week.  Have there been more lately? Open thread in the comments, tell me about your commute and the people you see on it.

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Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Maps

In our continuing series of guest blogs for the front page here is another good one from Doored from a couple days ago.

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My only preparation for this morning’s ride involved googling “How to bike in the rain.” No maps, no intense study of the route. I didn’t even have my GPS. True, I’d never ridden in from Brighton (I rode from the city outwards on my last commute).  I’d already decided not to bike in on Commonwealth Avenue. Although there is a bike lane, I still felt like I was taking my life into my hands last time on my ride home. I was plotting a new route as I went, exploring parts of the city I’d only ever ridden below, without any guidance above my sense of direction and the ever present Hancock building.

I coasted along comfortably in the warm humid weather, following the spacious bike path down tree-lined Beacon Street, following the C-line. My pleasant cruise ended, however, when the bike lane did. Now I was in traffic, dodging between the parked cars and the driving ones, at points in the travel lane. Luckily, the many bike commuters gave me some guidance about how to behave. I was following hard-core bike commuter, and as we came across several garbage trucks blocking the road, I planned to follow his lead. He swerved around the first truck, I swerved around the first truck (throwing a “please don’t kill me!” grin to the car behind me). To get around the second truck, though, he somehow slipped through a 6” gap between the truck and a car’s rear-view mirror. I stopped short, then walked my bike across the side-walk in defeat.

My map-less navigation served me well until I hit the Citgo sign. A few months ago on foot, I’d spent a freezing hour lost around Fenway at night and that familiar panic was setting in. However, I knew the bike afforded me the ability to get slightly lost and recover more quickly. I followed the majority of the cars and, as I crested the bridge over the Pike, the Kenmore canopy came into view and I felt at least mostly orientated.

Peddling hard in the direction of the Commons, I found myself at a strange intersection where the bike path, with no warning or signage, move from the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side. I crossed carefully, and continued riding on the left-hand side until I came to the Public Gardens. My relief was followed by confusion: There is no good way to ride one’s bike around the Commons and Public Gardens. The one-way streets, lack of bike lanes, and temporary insanity that hits all drivers in the area again led me to walk the bike the last several blocks to school.

Were I walking, or even riding the T, I would be loathe to attempt a commute without knowing the route turn for turn. I’m the person who usually maps the route, checks for landmarks at every turn, and has a print-out of directions if there’s the slightest chance that I’ll get lost (and I still get lost). However, on the bike, that level of preparation seems less important. If I turn down a wrong street, it’s easy enough to turn around when I realize it and retrace my route. I’ve got a great general sense of direction (Am I heading North or South? Towards the water or away?) So far, that’s all that I’ve needed to get me where I’m going.

Although walking started the process, biking has gone a long way towards connecting the T-stops in my mind. Sure, I know what stuff is directly around Aquarium, but before I started biking and actively exploring the streets, I didn’t really know what was between the Government Center and the Aquarium stops. You don’t really get a sense of where Kendall is in relation to Davis until you actually go from Kendall to Davis above ground. Now, instead of isolated islands or land in my mind, the T stops are navigational points that I can use to orient myself in the city. I’m discovering a side of the city I’ve never seen before, and I look forward to seeing more of it as Spring progresses.

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Check Out The Mayor!

Oh yes thats our very own Menino on his bike! Go Mayor go!

Nice little story about how bike commuting is taking over. Anyone who has been riding for the last couple years knew this was going to happen, lets hope that everyone is ready. I am talking to you guy who rides down the wrong side of the street on your cell phone with no helmet on. Come on people, there is no reason that the bicycle revolution can’t be safe!

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