It's Not Easy Being Green

I have to quote my friend Kermit the Frog in regards to yesterday's work commute. Yes - I did it. And yes - I loved it. But it wasn't easy. While I want to encourage other people to try bicycling instead of driving from time to time, I'm not going to pretend it's simple. For example: I've got my bike equipped with a rack and detachable basket, which makes it easier for me to carry the things I need without getting the horrible backsweat that a backpack would leave me with.

Full as it can get!

I've got my lunch cooler in there (alas, my pear got rather banged up going over bumps), a pair of shorts to change into for the ride home since it was supposed to be 87 degrees in the afternoon, purse, dress shoes, camera, and sweatshirt.

Now, I've ridden my bike in those shoes before. It's not difficult, but with 36 miles round trip and some long hills on the way home I figured I should stick to my trusty sneakers:

Sneaks.

Saving these for the shorter rides.

One commuting difficulty that can come up no matter how you get there: directions. The bike trail in my area was recently extended, and I had never ridden on the extension before. I thought it was pretty straightforward, but it turns out I was wrong. After getting off one portion, I got on another part in the wrong direction. Rode about 1.5 miles before I stopped a woman walking the opposite way if I was going the right way. Turns out I wasn't.

Bike Commuting Tip #1: if it you're trying to go east,

don't follow the signs that say "West."

Total commute time there: 1 hour 44 minutes (including time spent getting lost).

Total commute time home: 1 hour 40 minutes (last 6 miles or so are uphill and I was tired).

This probably isn't feasible for most people. And that's fine. I admit I had to give my legs a pep talk with about 2.5 miles to go. They were tired but they made it. So what makes sense for me may not make sense for others. I get that people have kids or other commitments and can't afford to spend 3 hours on their commute. But instead of thinking about what you can't do, think about what you can do. Can you drive partway and bike the rest? Can you use your bike to do some errands, like going to the bank or out for coffee? Even if you don't have a bike, could you take public transportation more? Do what works for you.

So, do you commute by bike? If so, what's your commute like? If not, what's stopping you?

Happy riding!