Bike Commuting Tips

[Hog_]

Right, so I'm getting ready to start commuting. My route will be between 8 and 10km, with a good amount of uphills and downhills - unless I ride the spruit.

 

The plan is to drive to the office on Monday mornings. In the car I'll have the bike, work clothes for the week, as well as toitle, toilettri, tiolettrees, cleaning stuff. Leave car at work for the week and drive home on Fridays.

 

I'll drag the towel home every day, maybe some dirty clothes as well.

 

Is it safe to use the same shorts in the morning and afternoon? Should I get some sweat-resistant cycling shirts or something? What should I carry in the back pack?

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirtbreath]

Where do you work?

[shaunh]

Get yourself a bright rear flashing light like the Cateye TLD1000 and use it during the daytime as well and get yourself a safety vest.

 

Be Safe!!

[Hog_]

 

Where do you work?

 

Very close to Fury Ford on William Nicol, and I live very close to where the Spruit starts in Paulshof... Which brings up another idea

 

 

 

[AndreZA]

A bright helmet helps. If you have a very bright light then have it shine eyelevel to the car drivers. They can not miss something that is blinding them. Bright gloves also helps when giving hand signals.

 

 

[ShortLegs]

Buy yourself a Lane4 artificial chamois from Sportsmans WH, easier and lighter than a towel.

Get two pairs of water resistant overshoes, if it looks like rain, wear them.

Flashing front and rear is mandatory (Cateye or BLT)

Rain jacket in your side pocket unless it's clear like 2day

Get a rear mudguard if you plan on riding in the rain

All I can think of for now. HTH

[Hog_]

Lots of really good advice already. I'm thinking of rather taking the Spruit instead of the roads. It may actually be safer, even with all the scum that lives there. I'm also sure in summer I won't have to wait too long for a group to latch on to.

 

 

 

[Velouria]

 

Is it safe to use the same shorts in the morning and afternoon?

Should be ok if it is only 10kms

 

[Aedon]

I commute most days,  a good 20k's from Tableview to Cape Town.

Best rear light,  I think,  is the Blackburn.  Even during the day its great.

Remember reading in a Brit mag,  "If you ride at night, think like a Christmas tree."

[Bateleur1]

Hog, I have been commuting to work for 7 years now.  I have my showering kit, extra pair of shoes and a belt or two at work full time.  I take my work clothes with me in a back pack that is big enough to fit the clothes and my work related stuff in it.

 

I swop my towel once a week.  The airconditioning in the building ensures pretty quick evapuration of moist so the towel dries very quickly.  The same goes for my cycling clothes so no need to take extra kit with me.  I do a 24 kilo loop to work in the mornings but in the afternoon it is a straight 10 kilos home.

 

Lighting is very important.  At the moment I avoid riding in rain simply because of the poor braking in wet weather conditions.  I am planning on buying a MTB with disk brakes for the rainy days.

[Dirtbreath]

That's not a very long commute. I would however skip the part between Peter Place and William Nicol if you are on your own. What time do you have to be at work? If at 8 it wont even be that early as it is a 45 min ride, tops.

 

Very cool if you can do it.

[Johan Bornman]

It sounds like you're planning to do off-road on a MTB. If you are on a road bike you are more prone to punctures and a puncture can easily make you late. You get more punctures on Mondays than other days of the week, therefore skip Mondays if you have to skip any day.

 

You don't say whether you have a shower at work??

 

From now on, start investing in your work wardrobe as and when you buy new stuff.

 

1) Buy a double-sided belts so you can colour-co-ordinate whatever you wear.

2) When buying dress shoes, buy the ones with lightweight foamy soles. There's a huge difference in lugging heavy clothes vs lightweight clothes in your backpack.

3) Invest in a backpack raincoat. It's an elasticated cover for your backpack. It gives you peace of mind when cycling in the rain allowing you to take your laptop home or to work even when it rains.

4) Get SPD sandals. They're just so much less fuss in the rain and you save a fortune on socks. ha ha .

5) Dont put your bike in your office. People always talk crap and waste the first 20 minutes of a meeting talking about your bike.

6) Get a headlight as well as blinky. You will leave late more often than you think and a light just makes you feeling better about meetings dragging on.

7) Don't cycle the spruit if you can. At least one of the 3 000 permanent residents of that stretch will soon discover your routine and ambush you.

8) On that note, carry a knife that's easy to take out.

9) Never get into an altercation with a car. They follow the same route as you and today's middle finger becomes tomorrow's run-over middle finger.

10) Never pass a stationary car on the left hand side. Someone is bound to open the door just as jou pass.

11) Get a bell.

12) Regularly check your puncture kit. I've been late because I didn't. I didn't realise that a folded tube quickly perishes on the folds.

13) Duplicate your essential grooming items at work. Keep some soap, deo, comb, nail clippers (nails go black when working with chains and then you're stuck with that all day) etc at work.

14) Always keep spare (more than one day's) underwear at work. I've had many a day walking around with a sweaty chamois as my underpants. It is uncomfortable and make peeing a pants-off affair.

15) Always keep an extra pair of neutral coloured socks at work. No matter how good your planning, you'll get there one day and sure as hell, the rest of the day you'll prance around in yellow Falke's.

16) Never compromise on the above three points. This means that you may not routinely use your spare sock or jocks! They are only for emergencies.

17) Plan your wardrobe. Jeans and chinos and heavy shoes weigh a lot more than you think.

18) Make yourself a checklist of things to take/take home, laminate it and keep it on either side. You'll be surprised how easy it is to forget the mundane. If you don't like checklists, go to work tomorrow wearing yellow socks and a bib chamois as underwear. You'll change your mind.

19) GEt yourself a little sign at the back of your saddle bag that says One Less Car or What Petrol Price?

20) Plot yourself a longer route. 10 ks isn't much and you'll soon fall into the habit of of doing the minimum and thinking it'll do something for your fitness. It doesn't.

21). Pre-meditate your rain strategy. My strategy was like this. If it rains, I go by car. If it looks like rain or drizzle, I go via the shortest route. Otherwise, I go the longer route.

22) Keep a pair of clear glasses at work. One night you'll leave home late and then you don't want to ride home with dark Oakleys. Just buy a pair of cheap safety glasses from an Afrox outlet for R19-00. (yes, nineteen rand. They come in tinted too and are great).

23) Keep a Maglite mini in your saddle bag. When you puncture at night, light is a problem. Even with a headlight, you could run out of battery time. This is not negotiable.

24) Always ring your bell at speedcops. This sets the tone and they soon wave at you. It makes the cars jealous.

25) Start random conversation with ladies in convertibles. Keep a set of pick-up lines handy. "My pace or yours," etc etc.

 

[controlc]

25) Start random conversation with ladies in convertibles. Keep a set of pick-up lines handy. "My pace or yours' date='" etc etc.

[/quote']

 

 

I must remember that one...

[Shebeen]

People always talk crap and waste the first 20 minutes of a meeting talking about your bike.

 

 

as opposed to what we do here?

[shaunh]

JB, where's the rest of your list.

[Dirtbreath]

25) Start random conversation with ladies in convertibles. Keep a set of pick-up lines handy. "My pace or yours' date='" etc etc.

 

[/quote']

 

 You must be beating them off with a stick. Even with your yellow socks.