DanBailey.net

Photo by red5standingby. Licensed under the Creative Commons.

[This piece is the second in a five-part series in this blog about how to effectively commute by bike, as other articles appear, there will be cross-linking between them. For Part I, click here.]

Getting Started

The first thing you need to do in getting ready for a bicycle commute is a reality check. There are two questions that need answering — are you healthy enough to undertake a bicycle commute? And, is the distance to the office something you can realistically ride?

The first question is something you should discuss during a consultation with a doctor. I am not a physician, and thus not qualified to provide life-or-death medical advice in this series of articles (or anywhere else in my blog). Should you be healthy enough to make a weekly commute, by all means move on to the next question.

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Photo by Richard Masoner. Licensed under the Creative Commons.

[This piece is the first in a five-part series in this blog about how to effectively commute by bike, as other articles appear, there will be cross-linking between them.]

Introduction

Recently, I wrote about the out-of-control energy costs that are plaguing the United States, their impact, and put forward a pair of ideas about reducing the amount of oil we have to import. One of these ideas was a once-a-week bike commute. (The other was adopting, nationally, a four-day work week with 10-hour days.) As a long-time cyclist, and someone who has been working in bike shops since 1999, I am exposed to all manner of cyclists, including commuters. I’ve also used a bike to commute to jobs — some as close as 2 miles, some as distant as 17 miles. This piece is intended to help you get started, plus teach you things that you’d rather not discover the hard way.

The main reasons for commuting by bicycle are obvious — you’ll save money on gas and you’ll end up more healthy. In the grand scheme of things, you’ll be helping the national economy by reducing demand for oil, and you’ll be helping the whole planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If those aren’t reasons enough, think of it as a fun way to reduce stress and get in shape, and as a reason to buy a few cool toys.

So. You’ve decided to commute to work. Part Two will explain what you need to do to get going.

Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Getting Started
Part Three: Contingency Planning
Part Four: Improving the Experience
Part Five: Commuting in Extreme Conditions

So a friend astutely pointed out that if there’s a recession on, it’s not necessarily the fault of the housing market. His theory is that it’s an issue of the rising costs of energy, and I’d say that that’s fairly sound. Energy costs are up across the board — it’s more expensive to heat my apartment, run my electronics, and fuel my car. In the case of the car, almost twice as much as when Bushie came into office. The entire economy runs on gas (god help us), and when fuel costs go up, the cost of goods go up as it requires more money to get them to a point of sale.

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So. I’ve started assembling parts — mostly the cheap stuff. Track cog and lockring, pedals, tubular tape, bottom bracket. I’m still waiting to hear back from Blue as to whether or not I can employee-purchase a frameset from them. If I haven’t heard anything from them by Wednesday, I’m going to give them a ring and see if that gets me any traction.

(I know this post seems odd in a day when I’d also post about financial planning, but do bear in mind that there was a reason I was sticking to a budget on the new bike.)

I’m getting more and more psyched up about the concept of racing on the track this year. I know it’s going to be a steep learning curve — in some ways the fixed gear is going to be like learning to ride all over again — and I’m going to end up with some serious splinters at least once, but I think that this is going to be awesome. It’s a distance and a format suited to my abilities, and something I think I’m going to enjoy a great deal.

This doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the road or cyclocross — far from it. Even though I’m probably a little less-suited to those events, I’m still going to rock that shit every chance I get.

This cyclist endorses Barack Obama for the Presidency. Because he’s clearly a long-time cyclist and his platform actually includes a bike plan.

Actually, that’s not my only reason for endorsing the man, but I’ll post about that at a later date.

So I’ve narrowed the field to three possibilities:

• the Blue TR250 frameset
• the Fetish Attack frame
• the Trek T1 frameset

Right now, the Fetish is leading the cost battle. The Blue is winning the appeal battle.

I need to go get working on the spreadsheet that determines what we’re getting here. Figuring out parts and such. Should be an interesting experiment, trying to balance affordability and performance. Once I make some determinations and get some parts here, you’ll get pictures.

There is no better way to deliver righteousness than through humor. I agree with everything the dude says, by the way.

Okay, so I’m starting to narrow down my choices for a track frame:

• a Trek T1 frameset
• a Fetish Attack frame
• telling financial common sense to go “fuck itself” and buying a Bridgestone Anchor PHM9 (pictured, click for larger view)

Obviously, given that this is my first season on the velodrome, I’m not dropping the bank on a frame that retails in the $4000-range. But damn, it’s a beautiful bike.

There’s this thing about bikes — they’re fucking expensive. That’s the one thing that really bugs me about this sport (other than hearing it called “the new golf”) — the price outlay is enormous. This year, I’m trying to keep my spending on bike stuff under control, because last year, I was really bad. Yes, I’m buying two more bikes this year, but I’m trying to be as inexpensive as possible without compromising performance. (So, inexpensive aluminum track frame instead of multi-thousand dollar track frame. Single-speed MTB instead of cross-country rig.) It’s tough. There’s part of me, knowing I could technically afford it, that wants to buy that PHM9 frame, but there’s this majority voice in my head that says, “Fuck that! We have other shit to worry about!”

Wait. Did I just admit to having some degree of financial responsibility…and that it’s important to balance responsibility with the hobbies?

Damn. I’d like to think my parents, my ex-wife, and a few ex-girlfriends would be proud.

Odd title for a post at the end of February in Minnesota, isn’t it? This morning when I left the house, it was warm enough for a light jacket, and there was a haze of fog in the air. Dirt was showing through patches of snow in the area between my apartment building and the neighbors’ house, and the smell was putting a big smile on my face.

Part of me wanted to be late for work, go back upstairs, strap on the Las Cruces, and then spend half an hour violating the mud and snow. It’s not so much cyclocross as it is the urge to get out and ride. Okay, maybe it is ‘cross. I got the bug last fall and now I have the urge to flirt with the dirt.

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So. I was all geared-up to employee purchase a Felt TK2 frameset to race on the track this year. Unfortunately — and not just for me — the shop I work for elected to drop Felt as a product line. I was pretty gung-ho about this frameset — I’ve always been impressed with Felts from the first time I encountered them, and had been considering an F1X as a pit bike for ‘cross this fall.

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