By By Winter

Today was the first thunderstorm of the season. Sadly, after a winter of never missing a day I grabbed a ride home. Something about 57mph gusts, baseball size hail and tornadoes made me want to not ride this evening. A half hour after I got home the sun began to peak out and I've seen no more activity in the last two hours: I could have easily waited and road anyway. Lesson learned.

That said, I'm pleased to have made it through a winter of commuting with no serious injuries. I had one fall and it wasn't too bad: A couple of days of a sore hip.

Winter riding really isn't terribly hard. If you have the proper equipment and a little patience it's not much worse than a nice day in spring. It has the distinct advantage of not presenting any acute danger like: Lightning, extreme wind, hail, tornadoes.

As I remember from last summer the trick with thunderstorms is to wait out the storm. They often hit about when you need to head home and since you're going to be on your bike about twice as long as you'd be in your car they present extra danger. But usually they clear up in 20-80 minutes: Well, that's what they do in Lincoln, NE.

Weather Forecast: Cold and Dry

I love cold and dry. I don't have to use studs for cold and dry.

Commuter Benefits. Just in case you thought you're being ripped off by not getting a tax credit for your transit costs I'd like to remind you that the federal Government already gives a tax credit for:
* Use of mass transit.
* Paid parking costs.

It's about time they gave something to cyclists. I think I'd be happier if they ditched all of the incentives and invested in building useful bus systems instead. The last thing we need is more subsidized downtown car parking.

Yay for Studs

So this week was a good test for all of my equipment. On Monday it was bitterly cold. On Tuesday we had lots of snow. On Friday we had a sheet of ice. Zero falls all week. The only close calls I had were in driven snow on Tuesday night when I decided to make use of side streets: Big mistake.

I did end up going out and buying ski goggles after Monday.

Snowy Ride In

Today was my first truly snowy commute. There was probably an inch and a half of fresh snow this morning and double that on the way home.

By and large it wasn't a problem. On the way in it was virtually all fresh snow: Lots of work but very little affect on stability. On the way home I took some side streets which were completely unplowed by driven a little bit. This was a rough ride. You'd hit certain patches of disturbed snow and your bike would shake back and forth. At first it was extremely disconcerting and I thought impossible to deal with. However, I eventually realized that I wasn't falling down and if I kept my speed up I kept better balance.

Keeping my speed up meaning to go faster than 6mph...

Overall it wasn't bad. Last night I purchased ski goggles. These are a huge help. At this point I cover every inch of skin and keep everything pretty warm. I could use some warmer gloves though.

The current winter equipment:
* Studded tires: $90 (pair)
* Fleece mittens: $10
* Cotton glove liners: $10
* Weather shell: $100
* Ski goggles: $45
* Insulated Shoes: $40
* Balaclava (smart wool, I recommend it): $30
* Beanie (half wool, I couldn't find all wool): $20
* Warm long johns: $40 (I'm not sure, they were a gift)
* Regular shirts and jackets, I'm not gonna cost this cause it's not for biking.
Total: $385

Winter cycling gear is not cheap. Although most of the cost is in a few small items. You only need studded tires on a few days, but you can't put them on each time without wearing the tire out before the tread is worn. Anyway, purchasing a second wheelset or putting the studs on a junker bike, solves this. You'll wear through wheelsets anyway, so don't worry about the cost in the long run.
The weather shell is worth it and is useful during every season but summer.

You can live without the ski goggles. I wanted something to keep my glasses from icing over and to keep that part of my face warm on negative temperature days. They keep my face warm but I must admit that I still get some fog on my glasses. It's better though. These things really ought to be cheaper though. Hopefully I can get several years out of them.

You need insulated shoes if you intend to ride when it's below 20 degrees.

New Wheels

Okay, so studs are wonderful. Studs are work. So I'm buying a second set of wheels to put my regular tires on.

I decided to go with a nicer set of wheels than I have. They're lower spoke count and lighter. The same rim width for easy swapping. ALX220's for under $250. It's good to know that not everyone is insane and you can buy wheelsets that are cost effective (assuming these don't turn out to be cheap junk).

So I'll put my normal street tires on these and put them on on days like Friday where I really didn't need any studs.

Studs

Yesterday was my first ride with studs. No falls, so either I was on my game (read: chicken shit of falling) or they work pretty well.

Why Commute By Bike?

As you may know I'm a full time bike commuter finishing up my first year. So I thought I'd run a few articles on what I've learned about commuting by bike so far. Look at the category "guide" to see everything.

To start we'll consider a cost analysis. These numbers are intended to be ball park figures. I'll miss minor details and probably make some estimates incorrectly. The purpose is the comparison.

Cost by car. We'll use a semi-fictional car that retails for $18,000 (with all of the goodies that you end up buying and taxes). Our car averages 30mpg. So keep in mind that this is an economy car. We're assuming 15,000 miles per year of use.
* Cost of car: $18,000
* Maintenance: $1,000 per year. (Note that maintenance tends to have a delay effect)
* Gasoline: $1,125 per year. (At $2.25 per gallon)
* Insurance: $800 per year.
* Taxes: $150 per year.

Running the car for 12 years and getting $2000 out of it at that point: $18,000 + 12*($1,000 + $1,125 + $800 + $150) - $2,000 = $51,100.
* Cost per mile: $52,900 / 180,000 = $.29.

Please keep in mind:
* We didn't include financing
* We assumed that gas would stay at the current price, and it won't.
* We assumed you'll drive this car for most of its lifespan.
* Insurance and taxes start high and go down. So this is a huge estimation!

Edmunds estimate, over a 5 year driving period, would be around $.45 for this size car. However, no frugal car purchaser is buying a new car every five years!

Cost by bike. I'm gonna use my bike, which is a bit fancy for a commuter.
* The bike: $1,025
* Maintenance: $100
* Fuel added in later.
* Insurance: $0
* Taxes: $0
* Replacement parts: $1,400

These are estimated over the life of the bike which I'm calling 30,000 miles. Many, many folks report getting a lot better mileage out of their bikes. However, somewhere in this area you'll find that many of your components are worn out and require replacement. You may or may not want to just buy a new bike. Some folks swear that they can keep a bike running indefinitely.

The cost of fuel is hard to figure since it depends so much on what you eat. I'm going to use this blog as a source of food costs. It takes about 40 calories for a cyclist to propel himself one mile. To get into less basic food it takes about $.10 for 40 calories. You'll probably eat cheaper stuff to refuel from cycling, but that's okay we'll cost for real food. If you ate peanut butter it's about $.03 per mile. If you ate smoked turkey it's about $.64 per mile!

You should also keep in mind that the average US adult is overweight. You may already be eating enough to make your commute. NOTE: You'll suffer from weight loss and longer life.

Cost:
* The Bike: ($1,025 + $1,400) / 30,000 = $.08 per mile
* The Gas: $.10 per mile
* Total: $.18 per mile

So. With decent food and an expensive bike we've still come out cheaper than we could hope to get in the car. And it may be that the food cost is almost nothing because we might be eating that anyway! Besides that: Cheetos taste good; gas smells like poison.

If we commute 10 miles a day (5 miles each way). 22 days a month. That's 10 * ($.29-$.18) * 22 = $24.20 per month. It's not exactly a fortune is it? It gets a lot better if you can do enough commuting to get rid of the car or relegate it to the minimum insurable mileage. You might also keep this in mind. You're theoretically supposed to get that money, somehow, to pay costs on your bike. It's in the interests of evening things out with respect to existing bus and personal auto parking subsidies which are far bigger.


Next I'll talk about what sort of bikes are available and what makes a good commuter.

Leaving Late

Today is the first day I've had to adjust my schedule to avoid a thunderstorm. As I was about to walk out it kicked up, crap. Hopefully it'll be over in a half hour, otherwise I guess I'll get a ride.

Off the Sidewalk

This is a common issue that arises: How do we get sidewalk cyclists off the sidewalk and onto the street.

* Make it the law.
* Convince them.

The first one is just out, most of us can't even begin to make that happen. Besides, why do it? There are occasions for sidewalk cycling.

So, the second option.

One way we can go about this is to simply state what so many of us perceive as fact: Riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous than riding on the street. Than we can go on to explain a few reasons why: Road crossings, commercial drives, out of sight out of mind, etc.

I think the trouble here is that you're leading with the wrong thing. You're first contradicting their sensibilities. Common sense tells us that the sidewalk is a safe place to cycle: If you don't believe me I direct you to observe where most folks ride their bike on a busy street.

So how about this direction:
1. Admit that one can safely cycle on the sidewalks.
2. Explain how:
* You must keep your speed low, say below 10mph.
* You must slow, even more, for every commercial drive and street crossing; then look behind you for traffic which appears likely to turn across your path; then look forward for traffic which appears likely to cross your path (or the other way around I think).
* You must consider it your responsibility to not get hit by cars who cannot see you.
* Always ride behind, or stop for, cars which intend to pull out onto the street from side streets and commercial drives.
3. Point out that this is how you should be doing things as a pedestrian as well, but it's a bit easier to do at that speed and with that extra balance and ability to stop and go quickly.
4. Explain how to ride safely in the street:
* Ride to the right when you feel it's safe (I'd say practicable, but no sane person cares what this word means).
* Follow the same rules of the road cars do.
5. Point out that 4 is easier than 3; and since it's easier it's more repeatable and so it's probably safer in the long run.
6. Show the normal statistics.

Popularity of the Commute

This is my first summer commuting in Lincoln. I started commuting off and on last November and started doing it full time last February.

But these last two months have been, by far, the best showing of Lincoln cycle commuters I've seen. I see about 4-5 other people every morning, although they're usually different people but my schedule varies a lot. I saw my neighbor commute the other day. There are usually 4-5 others at work each day (sometimes more, sometimes a bit less). And this is a 50 person company.

I don't remember seeing so many cyclists while driving last year, but I might not have been looking.

Now, they're all on sidewalks and MUPs. But one thing at a time right?

Must be $4 a gallon gas.

Commuter Bike

So I decided it was time to stop commuting on my road bike. It's just too much work switching shoes every day, too much to deal with the mediocre roads I ride to work (they're paved, only minor pot holes, but they're cracked and there are permanent surface issues they never fix).

So I decided I'd turn my winter commuter into my full time commuter bike!

So here's a shot of my winter commuter a it was when I got it:













And here we have it after some upgrades:
1. Put a computer on it.
2. Front and rear fenders, not the nicest ones but this bike isn't setup for fenders.
3. Took the saddle pack, and its contents, from my road bike. It's easy to swap.
4. (This is the big one) New city slicks.


The first couple days have gone okay. The warped rear disc is driving me nuts, I'm gonna have to fix it. I lose a couple miles an hour over the road bike, but I gain much less obnoxious bumps on the road!

I also gain 10lbs to lug up and down the stairs :(.

71 Degrees!

It was warmer this morning, about 31, when I left for work. But I didn't expect it to be 71 when I left work! What a pleasant surprise. No shell, no gloves, no baggies over my toes. It was a nice short ride home.

And, my odometer clicked up a zero. That's right, I finished my first 1000 miles on my road bike today. Hopefully the next 1000 won't take 6 months! Oh well, this means that even with the winter I averaged 40 miles a week in these first six months. I'm shooting for averaging 150 miles a week this summer. Since about 41 miles of that is a mandatory commute (I'm getting rid of ye olde car) that shouldn't be too hard. A group ride and a solo ride each week, and then another short solo or group ride.

Planning to go to my first group ride for '08 tomorrow night. You should go to! It's supposed to be in the 60's.

New Bike

On Sunday I bought a used mountain bike I found on craigslist. I'll skip on disclosing the price, but price was the main reason for going used: I didn't want to spend alot, but I didn't want a $300 mountain bike.

It's an '05 Giant Yukon Disc. Hardtail, disc brakes, trigger shifters, and some insanely odd 26x2" 80PSI tires.

So I rode it to work today. Since it was snowy out this morning I figured it was a good day to break her in. It does pretty well in this crap. Ice isn't so great, I really need studded tires for ice (I fell once on the ice). Snow though, for snow it does wonderfully!
On dry pavement it's not so nice. The road bike has spoiled me.

Anyway it looks like I'm gonna be about 11 for 20 for commuting this month. Pretty good given that I had only a road bike for the first 3 weeks.

Edit: A picture.