Taking old Bessie to work

I have an old three speed that has been my bike of choice for tooling around town. I love late night urban adventures and riding it to dinner or a bar. Recently I decided to ride it to work - from Arlington Heights to the Back Bay. I figured it would take me about 45 minutes and I could ride the bike path for most of the way.

Issues to deal with when riding your bike to work:
1. weather - smart layers are key to success in New England
2. sweat - since I am going to work, I don't want to arrive all sweaty
3. baggage - I had a laptop, my coffee mug, and my book bag
4. cars - riding a bike in traffic is dangerous
5. no dog - I was not able to put Lucy on the handlebars




Benefits of riding your bike to work:
1. exercise - I felt energized and alive when I arrived to work
2. no carbon emissions
3. happiness - the ride definitely had a positive affect on my mood

So, what did I learn from my experience?
It takes me 1.5 hours to ride old Bessie to work. Slow and steady was my pace to minimize sweat. If I were to start riding a bike to work on a regular basis, which is very appealing, I should invest in a nice urban commuter bike. Old Bessie is fun for tooling around town, but she was not the most efficient ride. So I am going to start test riding all these great commuter bikes that I am reading about. Single speeds seem really cool - but I am not sure if I am that cool. But for sure I will test ride one.

SAFETY FIRST - You have to realize that you are vulnerable when riding in traffic. Not all drivers are aware of bicyclists or motorcyclists. So you have to be extra aware and ready to react. This is why I love the bike path. The more time I spend away from the cars, the better.

Lights are important and you have to make sure they are secure on you and your bike. Clip on lights can easily fall off, so I recommend having a front and back light that are fixed to your bike, then you can have extra lights on your bag and your helmut.

The best set-up would be to have a gym membership near my office so I can bike to the gym and shower. But it would be expensive to join a gym merely for the shower, so I am going to think about this. Normally I get my exercise outside, I am not a gym person. I heard Mayor Menino is planning to install some public showers in Boston. I'll see what I can learn about that.

And in closing, I loved my commute. I do normally like to bring my dog to work, so if I do purchase a shiny new bike I will probably only use it 2 or 3 days a week so that Lucy can come on the other days. But riding a bike to work exceeded my expectations and put a big smile on my face. If your commute can become such a positive experience in your life it can only be a good thing. I would even venture to say that it could lower your stress level and increase your happiness.

Get out and ride!