How to Love Your Bicycle Commute

May is National Bicycle Month and it’s the perfect time to celebrate the bike commute. Not only does using your bicycle for transportation mean one less car polluting the environment, it also pads your pocketbook with the money you save on gas and helps you stay in shape while doing something you have to do anyway: get to work. Whether you’re a committed bike commuter or simply commuting-curious—may these tips fill you with confidence and joy on your next (or first) trip.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A bicycle
• An adventurous attitude

1. Start small. If the thought of commuting to work by bicycle seems daunting, begin with a lesser distance when you can be flexible with your arrival time. Ride to church, to the gym, to your daughter's soccer game, to meet your friends for coffee or to the grocery store when you only need to pick up a few items.
2. Go as you are. You don't need a fancy new bike or a whole set of gear. I know many people (myself included) who bike to work in normal clothes and shoes. When I'm headed out to meet friends for dinner, I even ride my bike wearing high heels. If you're worried about sweating in your work clothes, simply slow your speed.
3. Sit up and beg. This is an old slang term for riding with an upright posture. While a bent-forward, aerodynamic position is essential for racers, an upright position is the best for commuters. Sitting tall provides increased visibility and offers greater comfort. It my opinion it also puts you in a better mood because your heart is lifted and you can make eye contact and smile with passersby.
4. Eat breakfast. Fueling properly ensures that you will remain strong during your ride and won't need a nap the instant you arrive at your destination.
5. Remember: safety is as safety does. Safety doesn't only mean a helmet, a bell and lights; safety means paying attention to everything that's happening on the road—that truck ahead of you, the car behind you, the pedestrian to your right, the traffic light one hundred yards ahead. Safety means riding with active awareness and an ability to spot and avoid potential crashes.
6. Promote peaceful relations with drivers. Cars can be a bike commuter's biggest enemy, but in truth we need them as our biggest ally. Don't curse cars, don't hit cars, don't yell at drivers unless doing so is absolutely necessary to avoid an accident. Always obey road rules, signal your movements, travel the correct direction on the road and stop (not just yield) for every red sign and light. Doing otherwise is a sure way to increase animosity and aggression between bikers and drivers.
7. Let mishaps be a lesson in Zen. There is a lot of talk about bicycling being an ultimate Zen experience. While spinning pedals is a sure path to bliss, it is my belief that the true Zen teaching comes when you're halfway through your rainy commute, running 7 minutes behind schedule and a nail shreds your tire forcing you to stop on the side of a busy road and perform a tube operation. These are the moments that reveal if we are truly able to foster peace and calm.
8. Take the long ride home. Take the side streets. Change your mind. Turn around. Ride slowly. Stop for a treat. Commuting by bicycle gives you a nimble freedom that a car does not. Not to mention that a meandering ride home from work nearly always helps you unwind better than a commute by car.

Tips & Warnings

• Many cities have racks on buses and trains to help make your bicycle commute simpler.
• If a hill is too steep, if your legs are too tired, if the bike is just too heavy, there’s no shame in hopping off and walking your bike.
• Bike seats with seams and rough fabrics may eventually rub holes in your pants. Investing in a smooth leather saddle can help this problem.
• Cars parked along the street pose a particular threat of people inside opening doors and slamming into you as you ride by. Avoid this at all costs.