Commuting

end of an era

Since my return from torn ligaments on my ankle I continued back to bike commuting up until that nor eastern last week. Yup streak ended and this past week I had gotten pretty violently ill that kept me off for a good part of this past week.

Moving forward changes have been made. I will be working a 7p to 3a shift which shuts me out of being able to cross the GWB as it is closed 12a to 6am. Besides that riding through Washington heights at 3am isn't very appealing. This is how December will play out for me.

Moving forward forward changes have also been made. For the past 25yrs my employment has been in NYC and I have since taken a new job that will keep me in NJ. I am taking a risk from leaving a job I could easily retired from but had no challenge or upswing. My new job is putting me out of my comfort zone and putting a whole new spin of challenges. I hooked up with a large General Contracting management firm as a job supervisor where I will be responsible for multi million dollar projects. I sweated and had sleepless nights over this decision but in the end I look forward to the new challenges. So what does this all mean, for now my bike commuting has come to an end at least until I figure where when and how I can maybe pick it up again.

Happy Commuting to all you crazy commuters, be safe and keep rubber side down...
 
mattybfat said:
I am taking a risk from leaving a job I could easily retired from but had no challenge or upswing. My new job is putting me out of my comfort zone and putting a whole new spin of challenges. I hooked up with a large General Contracting management firm as a job supervisor where I will be responsible for multi million dollar projects. I sweated and had sleepless nights over this decision but in the end I look forward to the new challenges.
Click to expand...

Good man. Those who are willing to take the chances are the ones who get rewarded. Best of luck!!
 
Ride your bike in one day and after work we will do the 4 borough tour and cross back to NJ after 5am.

That or ride up to bear mountain and cross the bridge there ;D

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
 
soundz said:
Ride your bike in one day and after work we will do the 4 borough tour and cross back to NJ after 5am.

That or ride up to bear mountain and cross the bridge there ;D

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Word, let me know when...
 
mattybfat said:
Moving forward forward changes have also been made. For the past 25yrs my employment has been in NYC and I have since taken a new job that will keep me in NJ. I am taking a risk from leaving a job I could easily retired from but had no challenge or upswing. My new job is putting me out of my comfort zone and putting a whole new spin of challenges. I hooked up with a large General Contracting management firm as a job supervisor where I will be responsible for multi million dollar projects. I sweated and had sleepless nights over this decision but in the end I look forward to the new challenges. So what does this all mean, for now my bike commuting has come to an end at least until I figure where when and how I can maybe pick it up again.
Click to expand...

Fortune favors the bold. Best of luck with your new endeavor, Matt!!
 
mattybfat said:
Moving forward forward changes have also been made. For the past 25yrs my employment has been in NYC and I have since taken a new job that will keep me in NJ. I am taking a risk from leaving a job I could easily retired from but had no challenge or upswing. My new job is putting me out of my comfort zone and putting a whole new spin of challenges. I hooked up with a large General Contracting management firm as a job supervisor where I will be responsible for multi million dollar projects. I sweated and had sleepless nights over this decision but in the end I look forward to the new challenges. So what does this all mean, for now my bike commuting has come to an end at least until I figure where when and how I can maybe pick it up again.
Click to expand...

Proud of ya!!! A big step, but I believe the right one in the end. Congrats!!
 
Did my first commute to work today, it was just over 8 miles mostly on the Henry Hudson trail Freehold>Marlboro. It was cold, my toes were frozen and my shirt was wrinkled, but you can not wipe the smile off my face, what a nice feeling it is to bike to work.

Luckily I have an awesome boss that let me bring my bike into my office.

I think I am going to try and commute more often, but could use some tips/pointers:

1. How to avoid a wrinkled button down shirt?

2. Any tricks on avoiding sweating, Although it was cold this morning, I walked into the office and my whole body was damp (The backpack straps did not help)
 
Lupob6 said:
Did my first commute to work today, it was just over 8 miles mostly on the Henry Hudson trail Freehold>Marlboro. It was cold, my toes were frozen and my shirt was wrinkled, but you can not wipe the smile off my face, what a nice feeling it is to bike to work.

Luckily I have an awesome boss that let me bring my bike into my office.

I think I am going to try and commute more often, but could use some tips/pointers:

1. How to avoid a wrinkled button down shirt?

2. Any tricks on avoiding sweating, Although it was cold this morning, I walked into the office and my whole body was damp (The backpack straps did not help)
Click to expand...


Winter time is tough to wear you normal work clothes and be comfortable in regards to not being cold or sweating too much. 8 miles in winter time commuting warrants wearing your bike clothes and changing. If you are already wearing a backpack, then put your clothes in there.
 
Did you wear your work clothes in or change once you got to work? If you're changing into your work clothes at work, there are a ton of tricks you can use to keep fresh and people will never be able to tell you rode in. If you are riding in your clothes the only option you have is to take things pretty easy, but even that won't work out once things get warmer. You may want to consider changing at the office or somewhere nearby if you can.

Clothes- sticking with non-iron shirts and pants makes things much easier, though I have had success with regular shirts it just require being a bit more careful. I prefer to keep spares at work, but have transported entire outfits rolled into a backup or pannier, including a full suit. I find bundling works best. Roll your clothes with the items you need to keep most wrinkle free on the outside. The core of your bundle starts with your socks/underwear/t-shirt, roll your pants around this, then roll your shirt around that. There are a ton of tutorials online for cyclists and business travelers who use the same techniques for carry on luggage.

Sweating- biggest thing is to allow yourself to cool down. You'll keep sweating for awhile once you get off the bike. Take a few minutes to easy pedal before you get there or before you get changed to let your body settle down so you don't want to sweat into your fresh clothes. Unscented baby wipes also are great for freshening up. If you take a shower before you leave and wear clean bike clothes on your commute, you can wipe off your "clean" sweat with some wipes at work before you develop any funk.
 
Today I wore a l/s cotton base layer, button down shirt and a thin shell/windbreaker, for pants I wore khakis over long-johns. two pairs of wool socks, a scarf and a beanie under my helmet.

I think bike clothes will be a must in the future.

Baby wipes are a great idea! There are no showers at work unfortunately.

I think if I wasn't wearing a bag today it would not have been nearly as damp as I was, but I did not prepare the day before with leaving clothes/shoes at work.

Thanks for the help
 
Lupob6 said:
Today I wore a l/s cotton base layer, button down shirt and a thin shell/windbreaker, for pants I wore khakis over long-johns. two pairs of wool socks, a scarf and a beanie under my helmet.

I think bike clothes will be a must in the future.

Baby wipes are a great idea! There are no showers at work unfortunately.

I think if I wasn't wearing a bag today it would not have been nearly as damp as I was, but I did not prepare the day before with leaving clothes/shoes at work.

Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

I rode to work 30 days this year ( constrained into 6 months due to daylight ) and while that does not seem like much it was actually a huge help and added 1,500 miles to my year.

I had the luxury of showers at work ( critical with a 26 mile ride ) so things that worked for me:

I hate backpacks so it got a trunk bag and rack. Rack clamps unto seatpost ( would opt for a model where rack has a quick release from bolt-on clamp )

Leave pants, shoes and belt in office, and bring the rest of your clothes each day. ( wallet, phone, blackberry, ID, keys, glasses can all go in zip lock with clothes )

Good stuff indeed.

-W
 
effing hate Manville

got another flat in the area. I knew it when something violently shot out the side. Fortunately, I was able to "quickly" sticky patch it and ride on, but it's always a moral kicker. I guess tis is the season.

Got some clearance panniers before xmas. Life is so much easier. Bigger is better. AMERICA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom