A New Commute and New Biking Adventures

Big changes are coming! Well for me, at least. My office, where I've worked for three years now, is moving to a new location. Not out of state or anything, so I get to keep my job (thankfully!), but it means that my commute is going to be a good deal longer, starting tomorrow.

For years now, I've had a relatively easy, 2.5-mile commute each way along moderately-trafficked streets. Frankly, it could have been a bit longer and I wouldn't have minded. This new route is different. For starters, it's over 8.5 miles - the longest regular commute I've ever had. I biked a 7.5-mile commute back in college, so I know I'm able to, but it's going to be a heck of a transition. In particular, I'll have to adjust to the fact that it will take 3 times as long to get home, so cooking dinner is going to require a lot more planning and prep work on the weekends, and I'll have less free time in the evenings.

Amelia, with her new Surly Nice Rack

One benefit is that this finally pushed me to get racks on both my bikes, something I've been meaning to do for some time. Now I can ditch my messenger bag and get the weight off my back, which will help prevent getting sweaty. I have a pair of waterproof panniers which should do the job nicely, and I'll let you know my thoughts on them after I've given them some use.

My biggest concern about this new commute is that I'm going to have to work a lot harder to keep cool and stay clean. Up until now, I've been able to get away with biking in my work clothes because of the short commute, but that's not going to be practical anymore, especially come summer.  I'll be buying some more athletic gear to deal with Charleston's ridiculous heat, and I'll bring a change of clothes with me in my panniers. I'm also going to have to clean up when I get to work. The new office doesn't have a shower, so I'll be improvising with some cleansing/alcohol wipes. I've used them in the past and they work quite well as a "shower-in-a-bag." I'll let you know what technique works best, after some experimenting.

My other challenge will be the commute itself - the roads I'll be biking along. For the majority of my new route, I get to choose between a busy main road with a bit more space, and a slightly less-busy two-lane road with no shoulder. I'll probably go with the smaller road since it has less traffic, but I'm not really thrilled with my options. The final stretch of the new commute is along another moderately busy two-lane road with an adequate shoulder, but no street lights. Thankfully, I have lights on both my bikes and a reflective vest that works quite well. Still, it's frustrating to have to deal with roads that are so unfriendly to a bike commuter. I've surveyed Google maps and ridden the route myself several times, but there's no way around it as far as I can see. C'est la vie.

My coworkers have, of course, expressed their concerns, especially for my safety. I appreciate it, but with appropriate precautions (route planning, lights and reflective gear for when it gets dark) I feel confident that I can make myself as safe as possible. I'm also planning on buying a new helmet - my trusty Bell has served me well for years now, but the new MIPS technology in several bike helmets seems to provide much greater protection against concussions as well as blunt-force trauma, and I will be making the investment soon. I'll write a review when I do! In the mean time, here's the article in Bicycling Magazine that sold me on the idea: http://www.bicycling.com/senseless/index.html - it's well-worth the read.

Needless to say, it's going to be a challenge adjusting to this new, longer route. I'm quite able to, physically, but the extra time required, coupled with the hassle of getting cleaned up without a shower, is annoying and will take some getting used to. But I'm confident that I can tackle this and hopefully I can show others that the bike is still a great option even for longer commutes. At the very least, I'm sure I'll have even more to blog about!

That said, this new time commitment will make it harder to find the time to write this blog. I'll try to not let it interfere with the regularity of my posts, but it might be hard during the initial transition period, so please bear with me.

In other news, I've registered for an upcoming ride this Saturday - the third-annual Charleston Pint Pedal! I'm super excited, as it ought to be an absolute blast. It involves trips to local breweries, 200 riders, and seersucker. I'll definitely be writing about it in an upcoming post, so that's something to look forward to. If you're a Charleston cyclist, maybe I'll see you there!

-K