TL;DR

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So this week I will be wandering around looking for used bikes for the purpose of starting up a bike commute. It’s been taking me upwards of 45 minutes to get to and from my campus, and that is just Not On when I live a whole 5 miles away. 

(According to Google calculations it will actually be faster to bike to work than it is to try to get to work via our rather unreliable campus buses with the wildly inconvenient stops. So there’s that.)

Anyone have advice for a novice bike commuter? I haven’t actually ridden a bike in a long time and I pretty much suck at it, but the commute is only four or five miles and I think I can manage that much okay.

  1. cupcakemichi reblogged this from calidork and added:
    No I haven’t used them before but I want one because I end up changing lanes and stuff a lot. I definitely don’t want...
  2. calidork reblogged this from cupcakemichi and added:
    LOL I wasn’t about to. I still warn you against them though. They’re actually less than useless.
  3. cupcakearrow reblogged this from littlepaperfrogs and added:
    Lights lights lights lights. Not really fast blinking ones, but blinking ones with a slow blink rate, and a headlight. A...
  4. quarterclever reblogged this from writingfromfactorx and added:
    If you’re going to be carrying much of anything, make sure you get a rear rack. You can either hook on panniers to it...
  5. ace-case said: i commute only one mile, but four times a day. :) You’ll be fine, just take it slow so you don’t show up sweaty.
  6. captainjerkway reblogged this from writingfromfactorx and added:
    Get a bell. Get lights. Get a commuter bag so you don’t have to carry a heavy ass laptop (if you take it with you) on...
  7. enigmatictelemarketer reblogged this from littlepaperfrogs and added:
    practice your route sometime when you aren’t trying to get there on time, so you know how long it will take, and also to...
  8. littlepaperfrogs reblogged this from greenchestnuts and added:
    I only bike infrequently, but….if you have a hilly route or if you ride a long route regularly, bike pants or a nice...
  9. littlepaperfrogs said: be careful at intersections - cars will often not follow road ettiquette rules when it comes to bikes
  10. greenchestnuts reblogged this from writingfromfactorx and added:
    Get lights if you’ll ever be doing any riding at night. Get a good helmet, wear it, and replace it if it’s ever damaged....
  11. writingfromfactorx posted this