A few weeks ago I decided to start biking to work. I live 12 miles from campus but most mornings I go to a gym that's only 6 miles from campus so I figured I could start biking from there. I researched a route to get to the gym from my house by bike and it would require me to get up a little too early for my liking. So I decided that I would get a bike rack, drive to the gym with my bike, and then bike to school.
My first task was to find a good bike rack. I did some googling on this, as my car has a spoiler and that complicates things. I visited my local bike shop and they suggested the
Saris Bike Porter. There were others that would work for my car but most of them were a million dollars, which I don't have yet :o). They didn't have the Bike Porter in stock so I ordered it off of Amazon. It came last week and I was excited! I read on Amazon that it could be difficult to install, but I think I'll disagree. It wasn't
easy to install but it wasn't too hard. I watched the
installation video a few times before I attempted to put it on my car. I put it on, a little too high at first, but after some sleep I realized how to fix this (the top section of the frame- not the bottom section- should be perpendicular to the ground in case you've come across this blog in your attempt to install this rack). Today I loaded up the racks and drove to and from the gym (side streets only because I'm cautious) and it did just fine. It comes with cables that tie down the bike and that gave me some peace of mind (as I peered in the rearview mirror every 4 s lol). I do plan on buying cable ties to secure the wheels, which were spinning out of control on my commute. I will also get a crossbar adapter. I have a female bike with a slanted crossbar, so the bike does not sit level on the rack. It's ok, but the adapter will make me feel better (I found one today but it was a bit expensive in my opinion; Amazon has spoiled us).
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| Saris Bike Porter 2 |
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| Bike rack installed with Saris bike adapter |
I also invested in a good messenger bag. Part of the reason for that is I live in Austin, Texas and I feel like true Austinites wear messenger bags when they ride :o). Messenger bags also help prevent sweaty t-shirt syndrome. I have to wear a bag because I often bring my laptop to school and backpacks equal sweaty backs. I researched good bags and discovered
Timbuk2. I read great things about it and it seemed very functional. I chose a smaller bag that would fit my Macbook since I tend to travel pretty light besides that. It also arrived last week and so far I am very satisfied with it. It is smaller than I expected; I had to rearrange my lunch this morning for everything to fit nicely, but given all that I was transporting (lunch, a change of clothes, some toiletries, two books, and my Macbook), I am satisfied. It comes with a strap to secure the bag around you and keep it from swaying. I could have used it today. I will have to find that lol.
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| Timbuk2 messenger bag |
Finally I mapped out my route on
Google Maps and I was ready to go!
My ride was actually very nice. I was a bit jittery as it's been a while since I've rode in traffic, but the route helped. I really didn't have much traffic at all for it to be 8 am on a weekday. I was thinking the ride must've been mostly flat/downhill as I didn't feel that I was working very hard as I peddled along. Also the weather was just about perfect. Now the way home was a little less ideal. I waited for rush hour traffic to die down, but it was still the hottest part of the day and definitely a little less flat though not by much. I see more bike to work days in my future :o).
Other purchases to consider making for commuting by bike:
- helmet
- water bottle
- bike lock
- flashing lights (in case it gets dark- white in the front, red in the back)
- tire repair supplies (a tire repair class won't hurt either)
- sunglasses
- sunscreen
- bicycle computer (my ride was actually only 5.45 miles it told me)
- bike rack (the kind for carrying things on your bike rather than yourself)
