Bike Commuting

I love riding my bike to work and back. It gives me a purpose for exercising and appeals to my frugal nature by conserving gas, mileage on my vehicle, etc, etc. I started bike commuting with my very first full-time job out of college and have continued off and on ever since. That first commute was about two miles one-way and pancake-flat. My current commute is 19 miles one-way and fairly hilly. There are logistics which have to be given some thought. For instance, at this time of year, the morning ride requires far more layers of clothing than the afternoon ride (an average temperature difference of 30 degrees between the rides). I take lighter-weight clothes in the day before and leave them at work so that I have them for the ride home. I also take a couple of outfits to work at the beginning of the week so that I don’t have to carry a backpack. The drawback is that I can’t make bike commuting my only means of transportation. I have to rely on a car one or two days out of the week. Of course, if I was a true die-hard commuter, I would find a way to give up the car, but I’m too much of a wimp to voluntarily ride in the rain. Maybe with gas prices rising, more people will consider bike commuting. Sometimes riding two days a week doesn’t sound like it would make a difference, but now I fill up the car every other week instead of weekly. Very gratifying indeed!