Commuting to work by bike

Dennis Collins38 said:If we’re crazy, at least we aren't stupid.

... speaking only for himself 😛 ...

I was commuting from San Francisco-Oakland down to San Jose... luckily, by the time I hit Beverly Hills in the evening, the rain had almost died down...

I was rocking those waterproof gaiters from Lidl, a cheap plastic jacket from Walmart, and some grocery bags tied around my feet... 100% waterproof (well, on the outside, 😬) ...

... and yeah; highly visible, too 🧐

I have a quick question for the group. My wife will be commuting to New York City for work via car—carrying her bike on top—and she’ll need to park somewhere while traveling between patients...
She works as a home health physical therapist, so she's switching addresses every 45 minutes or so. She's been using a scooter up until now, but honestly, I think she's reaching her limit with the motorcycle rides...
What we really need to know is where, specifically in the Brooklyn area—around the Vrapče equivalent—can she leave her car between 8 AM and 3 PM safely, without worrying about parking tickets or fees?

Arthur Ross said:What we actually need to know is where in the Brooklyn area we can park from 8 AM to 3 PM safely without having to deal with parking fees.

😕

It’s not the Bronx. You should be fine pretty much anywhere. 🤷

Arthur Ross said:What we actually care about is finding a spot in the Brooklyn area where you can leave your car from 8 AM to 3 PM without worrying about being charged for parking.

Honestly, finding free parking in those neighborhoods isn't much of an issue.

What about those Brooklyn birds? We’re up in Boulder, and my wife leaves her car in the Glendale parking lot right across from the train station every single morning, and there’s always a spot waiting for her.

Look, I honestly have no idea where he should leave it for the entire day.

Maybe if she sees this thread, she can make a call. At the end of the day, she knows all those neighborhoods—so hopefully, she knows which area is actually safe.

Personally, I'm worried about the car—freshly painted bodywork—and that rack mounted on the trunk lid.

But let's not talk too much about my wife.

I picked up a Buff and a helmet today, so starting tomorrow, I'm commuting to work by bike. 11 miles Just one way for now.
I still need to grab some fenders and maybe some cycling shorts... we'll see how it goes with the backpack.
I'm sticking with slick tires for now and just smoothing out the pavement.

I'm trying to figure out how to kill some time in the morning while it's still dark. I'm heading out at 6:00 AM. 🙂 Maybe I'll tuck my phone into an arm sleeve pocket and listen to the radio.
The mornings are frustratingly gloomy. It makes me a bit nervous, but I've got three rear lights, one front light, reflective pants, a reflective jacket, and I'll throw a high-vis vest over everything.

And yes, the route is the Appalachian Trail.

Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

p.s. What kind of socks should I buy, and where? Everything else I own is windproof, except for the socks.

Arthur Ross said:But let's leave my wife out of this.

🤣

I picked up some socks at , $23, and honestly, I have zero complaints so far! 😉

WELLLL, as of today, I’ve officially joined the ranks of the bike commuters.
It is a fantastic feeling arriving at the office like this.

The ride took about 40 minutes, roughly 11 miles. A bit long, perhaps—but since I'm completely out of shape after a three-week hiatus, I suppose it's acceptable...
And yes, I sweated like a pig.
I wore my running/cycling tights, a standard undershirt, a long-sleeve cycling jersey, and a jacket from Lidl, along with gloves, an ear warmer, and a Buff. Within 3.1 miles minutes, I was already stripping layers off.
Needless to say, I don't need the undershirt, and I might opt for a short-sleeve cycling jersey under the jacket next time.

I still need to pick up some cycling shorts to wear over these tights, and maybe some short gloves. These current ones are just far too hot.

I am genuinely happy...🙂

Arthur Ross said:And yeah, I was sweating like hell.
I wore running/cycling pants, a basic undershirt, a long-sleeve cycling jersey, and a jacket from Lidl, plus gloves, an ear warmer, and a Buff. After just 3.1 miles, I was already stripping layers off.
The undershirt was useless. Maybe a short-sleeve jersey under the jacket next time.

Just great.🙂.

Haha, nice one!
Last winter, I was stuck wearing a heavy coat, a puffer jacket, and half a dozen other layers when it was only 40°F. By the time I hit the bike shop, I was soaking wet and stripping down to short sleeves. Just dress lighter. Suffer through five minutes of being cold until you warm up, then it's fine.🙂

peeled off my undershirt and second T-shirt, swapped out the short sleeves, and pulled off my headband—left the Buff behind.
It’s stifling again... just constant heat.
The backpack is killing me; I am sweating buckets under the straps.
I really need to start looking into getting some hip belts.
Every single day it's the same routine: shorts, a short-sleeved tee, and sneakers. My back is absolutely soaked through.

How are you all managing your gear?

Arthur Ross, grab those cargo shorts if you can. I was rocking shorter shorts myself until recently, which worked fine for the summer heat, but now that it’s finally cooling down, I’ve started carrying a backpack. Honestly, it’s such a pain because I have so much gear stuffed in there. I’d switch to cargos in a heartbeat, but I’ve got a bit of a dilemma: I need to buy a toddler car seat this spring so I can drive my little one to preschool, and once that's in the car, I won't have any room left in the trunk for them. I could try using some roof racks or something to carry them up front, but I haven't quite figured out the smartest way to handle it yet.

Arthur Ross said:stripped off my undershirt and my second cycling jersey, swapped into a short sleeve, took off my headband, and just left the Buff behind.
It’s sweltering again.
The backpack is absolutely killing me; I’m sweating like crazy under there.
I really need to start looking into some panniers.
Every single day it's the same routine: shorts, a short-sleeved tee, and sneakers. My back is just completely soaked.

How are you guys hauling your gear?

I use this storage bin in my trunk where I just toss everything. It’s the exact same model as mine, though I’ve got different stickers on it:

Ronald Diaz said:Arthur Ross, take the panniers if you can manage it... I was rocking a small hip pack recently which worked fine for the summer heat—but now that things have cooled down, I've switched to a backpack because I'm carrying more gear, and frankly, it’s a nightmare. I would opt for the panniers in a heartbeat, but there's a catch—I have to buy a child seat this spring to get my little one to preschool, and once that's installed, the panniers just won't fit behind me anymore. I could potentially use those front racks, but I haven't quite figured out the best way to handle that yet.

I'm running into that exact same issue, except I'm already dealing with the child seat🙂.
What kind of backpack are you currently using?

jadetiger962 said:I just use a trunk organizer in the back to cram everything in. This one is identical to mine, though mine has different decals:

http://www.lafc.com/shop/804/pgoid/167/...ave-17L.wshtml

Will it actually fit sneakers, jeans, a short-sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve thermal, plus a handful of various paperwork?

For the time being, I'm leaning toward getting some sort of hiking pack, especially since that bike seat is coming back into play this spring. It's true that it gets a bit hot sometimes, but I'd rather deal with that than constantly mounting and dismounting a rear rack every single time...

By the way, the LAFC shop is pretty solid. They have just about everything.

Arthur Ross said:So, what are we actually talking about here? Is it just some sneakers, jeans, a couple of tees, maybe a sweatshirt, and then a random pile of paperwork tossed in for good measure?

Honestly, it’s pretty much that. I think I caught a glimpse of one sitting in an AECOM storefront window the other day, so you could always swing by and take a look for yourself if you're curious.

If you're talking about that bike pannier, everything just disappears inside. You've already got the kid's car seat, so all you really need is a solid duffel and some plastic sheeting to keep the rain out, and I guess you're set.

Instead of bringing the kid, you're just hauling a bag.

Morgan Moore37 said:If we’re talking about that specific bike pannier, you can pretty much ditch everything else. You’ve already got the kiddo's car seat, so really all you need is a solid bag and maybe some heavy-duty plastic to keep the rain out, and you're good to go.

Basically, instead of hauling a kid, you're just hauling a backpack.

It fits for me, though. I could even show you myself if I had the chance. 😛

Good grief, how many liters could that thing actually hold? I guess when I had something similar, it was just filled with sneakers and some old jeans, so that was about it. Or maybe I just completely lost my sense of scale.

Arthur Ross said:took off my undershirt and my second jersey, swapped to a tee, pulled off the headband, and just left the buff on.
It’s hot again.
The backpack is killing me; I’m sweating like crazy.
I think I need to start looking into panniers.
Every day it's just shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, and sneakers. My back is completely soaked.

How do you guys carry your gear?

I use cheap panniers ($17) that I won't replace until they literally fall apart (maybe after six months of daily riding). I save the backpack for my laptop or anything else sensitive or expensive.

I am still waiting for some semblance of actual substance to be posted here... if that is even possible given the current state of this board. kaže:
If you’re talking about that specific bike trunk—you might as well consider everything inside lost... It’s just not reliable. Honestly, if you have the kid's car seat ready to go, all you really need is a decent gear bag and some heavy-duty plastic sheeting to guard against the rain, and you're pretty much set.

Instead of focusing on the kid, you're just obsessing over the designer bags...

Dammit, Arthur Ross—that is easily the most logical and cost-effective way to handle this. I have no idea how that didn't cross my mind earlier...🙂.

I also have a plastic cover from an old baby stroller lying around—it’s actually quite nicely profiled, which leads me to believe... I should be able to pull off a clean assembly if I take my time...

Well, you really did me a massive favor by sending those contractors my way—I can’t tell you how much money I’ve managed to keep in my pocket thanks to your recommendations...😍

I tried using those heavy-duty bags from AutoZone once, and honestly, I think they were just a complete waste of money.