Today was the first day I commuted to my new job.  The commute by bicycle to Fennimore (12 miles) was not too difficult, however, my new job is another 5 miles distance from my home, so the commute by bike now takes a little more effort.

I started out this morning at 6:40 while the sun was still coming up. It felt good to be back on the bicycle after so many weeks out of the saddle.  While biking to work, I try to take it easy, so it was not surprising when I later found that the trip took me an hour.  The route I decided to bicycle this morning was the most direct route, but it is also more challenging than my commute to Fennimore.  But I had my blinky LED lights and was off.

I had just picked up a new headlight from the shop last week.  I chose a Beamer 5 (5 LED light that mounts to your handle bars) because I had been using a Beamer (one LED light) in the past and found it very reliable.  The reason for going with the five and not one LED was, of coarse, the brightness.  The Beamer 5 is significantly brighter than the Beamer or Beamer 3.  I will use it a few more times and then report on it.

Only a couple miles out of Lancaster and I was passed by Brad, who helps out in his wife and daughter’s bakery and coffee shop in Fennimore.  He slowed, gave a little honk, waved a fond farewell and sped off towards Platteville.  I will miss many people in Fennimore and Brad and his family are definitely among them.  It was nice to see him and I pondered for a moment all those who i would not be seeing as often.

The bicycle ride went on and I finally came into Platteville. For the first time I carried my bike up the two flights of stares to my office and changed for the day.

The bicycle ride home was a rude awakening to my commuting to Platteville by bike.  By the time I left the office at nearly 4:30, the sun had set and the sky was already getting dark.  Pink clouds lingered in the western sky and I was ready for a commute home in the dark, or was I?

The first part of the ride went fine, I challenged myself on a few hills and found that I was not feeling as chipper as I had been just a month ago.  I eased up on the ride knowing full well I had a challenging ride home still ahead of me.  I had decided to take a county road home and knew full well that in order to get home I had to ride up quite a few small hills as well as a few not so small ones.  A few miles away from the turn off that would take me north to Lancaster I was struggling and felt more like diverting south to Potosi for a beer at the brewery, but I knew full well, that would only lend to my agony later.  I finally turned north and progressed slowly in an exhausted haze.  I climbed each hill slower than the one before, “How many hills were there on this road?” was the main thought that filled my mind followed by thoughts of the food I would eat when I arived.   It felt like I was pulling the bike up the hills not rolling up.  I had hit the wall.

I was shaking and the headlight from my bike lurched in a dance that would make Elaine Bennis proud (Seinfield fans know what I mean).  Lancaster seemed far away and i was not making much headway.  It took determination just to stay pedaling.  It seemed a long time before the lights and homes of town came into view.  Even then, I wanted to pull over and just stop.  When I reached home, I ate anything.  My hands were shaking violently for half an hour while I put a pizza in the oven and ate a tortilla with cheese.  Not the gourmet meal I dreamed of while riding home on the bike, in the dark, for two hours.

If I am going to do this I would like to do it with some degree of realism.  I do not want to spend a lot on new equipment, but I do want to be safe and fairly comfortable while commuting.

The Bike:

OK, I am a little more comfortable with bicycles than most people.  I have six bikes.  Yes, six.  They are not all new.  In fact, I have only ever had five new bikes, four of which I still own the short list of which are a 1982 Schwinn Le Tour from my eighth grade graduation, a 1984 Trek 760 road bike I built when I was in highschool, a 2001 Trek 5200 road bike (my mid-life crisis bike), and a 2006 Gary Fisher Cake 2 mountain bike (won by a drawing, at the 24 at Nine Mile 24 hour race).  The other two are an early 90′s Trek 2100 road bike and a 2000 Schwinn Moab mountain bike.  I use them all!

I have mostly commuted on the road bikes and have lately favored the 5200 because it is so much fun.  The mountain bikes I use for around town or actually mountain biking and the Schwinn Le Tour is a strict around town bike.  However, upon the recent snow I am thinking hard about which bike I would like to use on snowy, icy days.  The Le Tour may work if I can get some studded tires for it.  Otherwise it will have to be the Schwinn mountain bike as the fisher is just too nice to subject to the salt and road grime.

Clothes:

Foot ware:

I mostly use my newer (both ten years old with hundreds of miles on them) road or mountain bike shoes, but will take out the old ones (twenty years old at least) when riding leisurely on one of the older road bikes.  The shoes correspond with the bikes because the pedals only fit with the respective cleats.  The older the bike, the older the pedal and corresponding shoe.

Closer to the skin are socks.  Get good socks!  I always use good socks made with material that will wick the moisture away from my feet.  I usually take it very easy on the way to work so my socks don’t get sweaty.  As such, once at work you want the socks to look good.  I have some very colorful cycling socks that are very comfortable, but when meeting with clients, wearing bright blue and yellow socks looks a little odd peaking out between your shoes and pants.  Get darker neutral colored socks like black or gray (without skulls or sperm on the side).  Or keep socks at work to change into.  You will always want clothes to change into at work so socks are an easy thing to keep at work along with pants and shirts.

As it is cold now, I also use booties.  Not baby type booties but neoprene shoe covers that help to keep your feet warm.  I have used them for years and they work great even in below zero weather.

Head Gear:

The helmet is always a must.  I don’t care if you fancy yourself to be a “Cyclist” or not, everyone should ware a helmet!

Under the helmet on cold days I use a hat or, better yet a balaclava.  I swear by my balaclava.  Gives you hat hair, but keeps me very warm and prevents frost bite!

I also use sunglasses on nearly every day.  Not just for the sun, as rain, snow and if you are going very fast, insects are deflected away from your eyes by the simplicity of a cool pair of shades.

Gloves:

I never used to use gloves, but ten years ago I started and it has made a huge difference.  When I was younger doing 75 miles on a summer day to visit a young woman whom I met camping and of whom I had a crush on was a good day! However, I would arrive home with my hands numb.  Even years later biking in the rain my hands would go numb from gripping the handlebars tightly.  Now, with the assistance of a good pair of gloves, I don’t have to grip the bars so tight because the leather of the glove assists in the gripping.  Gloves don’t have to have much padding, but a good pair of gloves will make you much more comfortable on the bike.

Layers:

Now for the real stuff.  Shorts make the commute easy, OK bearable.  I used to bike in running shorts.  How many hundred miles did I bike not knowing the luxury of a good pair of bicycle shorts.

Then the Jersey.  Any wicking material will do as long as it is fairly light.  In other words, it doesn’t need to be a tight multi-colored Tour De France want-a-be.

In cold weather I will wear a pair of tights. They keep your legs warm! They do fit like woman’s nylons I’m told, but they keep you warm. And in cool weather I ware a heavier layer on my upper body.  Usually this is a long sleeve jersey or another long sleeve active ware.  Wicking! Have I mentioned that your clothes should be wicking!

On very cold days a shell for your upper body is a welcome cover against the cold wind.  Until recently, I used a shell I bought for $15 when I was twenty.  Last year, the shell ripped as I passed through a wooden fence. It was faded and now had a foot long hole where no hole should have been. The shell worked fine for all those years of biking running and skiing, but after using the new shell twice I understand again why good clothes really do make a difference.

My short advice: always dress in layers and purchase the most comfortable clothing you can.