Have you been thinking about commuting to work by bike but need a push?
This is a guide to break it down and reduce your doubts and fears to where you feel comfortable to try it out.
Before we start, here’s a bit about me and how I started commuting to work by bike. My name is Roger Lacey and I am part of Bike Eastern Suburbs, a bike burb.
As a kid I used to cycle to school and loved it until I discovered motorbikes and cars. Fast forward a few decades and I rediscovered the joy of riding a bike with my young daughter. I got into riding more and more for pleasure then started road riding and entered a few races including the Lake Taupō Challenge. Then about 10 years ago I started a job that was about 8km from home. A lovely new cycle lane had just opened along the route however, the cycle lane ended at a busy four lane highway. It took me almost a year before I got the courage to ride it, starting off on the footpath before graduating to riding in traffic. Now, a thousand commutes (and a few flat tyres) later, it’s my regular way to get to work. Over the years I’ve found that the behaviour of the traffic has got better and some great new cycling lanes have been built, but the four lane highway is still part of my daily ride that I’ve got used to over time.
There are many great reasons to ride to work such as getting exercise, saving money, no parking hassles, no traffic jams, and helping reduce your impact on the planet.
There are also many reasons people don’t ride. If there weren’t any reasons not to ride, everyone would be doing it, so let’s try to break down the reasons against, until the balance tips in favour of you riding.
Some of the most common reasons are: Confidence in riding your bike, worries about negotiating traffic, not being able to fix your bike or concerns about finding your bike still there when you come out of work. Other things can be hills, inclement weather, helmet hair, getting sweaty or thinking you need to wear Lycra. In this series of posts we will look at how to overcome doubts and fears to get you on your way. We’ll also look at tips to make your commute better so it becomes something you look forward to rather than endure.
Check out the rest of the Commute by Bike series
- A series to help start your bike commuting journey
- Choosing a bike for commuting
- You and bike commuting
- What stuff do you need for bike commuting?
- Route planning for bike commuting
- Safety tips for bike commuting
- Motivation when you start bike commuting
- Pimping your ride for a bike commute
- What clothes do you need for bike commuting?
- Maintaining your bike for commuting
- Watch-outs for bike commuting
- Coping with road rage when you commute by bike
- Going electric or going alternative for your bike commute
- So you’re a bike commuter. What next?
