Another cycling thread - commuting

since you didn't specify...
rack with small panniers is my preference over a backpack, as the backpack is hot, and adds weight in a place i don't want it when riding.

you can never have too many blinking lights. i usually ran 2 in the rear, one in the front (white), plus my headlamp to point at drivers and make sure they saw me from the side. also, reflective rim strip (adhesive) placed every few inches on the wheels will light you up like a X-mas tree. being seen is your only defense.

ride as much like a legal vehicle as possible. don't blow signs or lights.

in the days i was commuting, my tire of choice was the armadillo. don't know if they're still available. weight is pretty irrelevant, flats suck. Mr. Tuffy is also a good way to go. slime doesn't work all that great and is a real disaster when you do have to change one. carry tubes, patch tires at home later.

and don't get caught up in the road rage. it won't end well for you. just let it go.

enjoy!

 

+10

 

I gave up on commuting to work, way too fucking dangerous in the evening where I live and work. This is after getting hit by some old bitch in the Valley at 5:30 in the evening. Mornings are not bad. If you can do it safely, kudos to you. Now I just train way too early then drive or take the train to work.

 

don't get hit by a car

 

The last time I want to be on the road on a bike is when all the drivers are out there annoyed about having to go to work, impatient to get home, and oblivious to everyone around them.

A friend of mine commutes and rides through a big park here in West Houston to avoid the roads, but he had a run in with a pack of feral hogs and spent the next 8 weeks recovering from a broken pelvis.

Be careful out there. :up:

 

tubes not patches, patching in the cold rain heat etc sucks. i agree slime tubes are a joke. keep your tires properly inflated and in tip top shape. i was a bike messenger for 10 years, ran standard road tires with tuffies in them, worked great. but eventually the tuffy will wear a little hole in the tube from friction if you dont take them out and put baby powder in them. riding in trafic is a lot like riding a motorcycle, be defensive as hell, don't trust anyone, and esp watch out for delivery trucks and never ride next to a semi, (the turning radius is really dangerous) good luck i'd rater ride in the rain/snow than be stuck in my truck in traffic or pay $12 a day to park.

 

also i bag it and not panier it. its popular for "flash mobs" to rob bicyclists here, its harder to get a bag off of you than a bike that has all of your stuff attached to it.