Why I Bike to Work, Part 3

In the first two parts of this series I talked about taking up the option of biking to work as a result of my office moving, and then the practicality of doing so. In this part I’ll take a look at the costs and savings in doing so, and other times I can use the bike instead of the car.

First, here’s a list of gear I had to get to start. Since I already had some of the items I’m like the bicycle, helmet, and backpack I’m going to focus on the incremental items. But just for background I bought the bike nine years ago for $900, and the helmet and backpack ran about $75 for both. So I had already spent about $1,000 for recreation that I can now also use for commuting.

The incremental items were as follows:

So my additional cost was about $300. With a two mile commute I’d be driving about 20 miles a week or 1,000 miles a year. Assuming my car gets 20 mpg on such a short commute (fuel economy would improve a little on a longer commute – I’d get about 23 mpg around town), and fuel at $3 per gallon, it would cost about $150 a year in fuel. After two years of biking to work I would finally break even.

But that doesn’t account for parking ($100/month pre-tax, so say $70/month net), maintenance and other expenses with the car, nor does it account for bicycle maintenance (which, by the way is negligible). From a financial standpoint though, it’s not like I’m saving a lot of money one way or the other if I don’t park in the office garage. If I did though it would be an extra $840 per year. So I’m easily saving several hundred a year compared to garage parking.

More importantly though, I get an additional 1,000 miles a year of bicycle riding (exercise), don’t have to look for or pay for parking. I also save 10 minutes a day in walking to and from the car (33 hours/year at 200 work days) compared to street parking. Granted that’s exercise too, but I like biking better and it’s more vigorous.

In a nutshell, biking to work has been good in every way now that I have that choice. In my case, it costs less than driving, gets me to work sooner, causes far less stress and hassle, is great exercise, and is do-able year round. Oh, and I also happen to like where I live now much more than before. So I would definitely recommend considering it.

Why I Bike to Work, Part 2

Most people I’ve talked with think it’s great to bike to work, it’s just not for them. They can see the benefits but they can’t see themselves making the changes in their lives to do so. The changes are not that big.

The key to commuting is obviously your Point A and Point B. They have to be within a comfortable distance of each other, and there has to be a reasonably safe route for biking. Both need to have showers, and a place to store your clothes. In my case all these criteria are met. Most of my ride is on a bike trail, and there’s only one main intersection I have to cross. Every other consideration can be adapted to. Here’s what I did.

First, there’s a bicycle rack by the door of the building where I work, the best parking space of all. And it’s covered. Since no one else uses it, I leave my bike lock on it when I go home so I don’t have to carry it around (dead weight).

Next, I bought a wardrobe from Home Depot and put it in my office, put my work clothes in it. Now I don’t have to carry each day’s change with me. I use two plastic storage bins for storing socks and undergarments, and another one as a hamper. Since we wear business attire here my slacks and suits only need to be dry cleaned once in a while. I’ll take them to the cleaners with my car. On a weekly basis I’m hauling my hamper home in my backpack with my undergarments, shirts, and socks. I also iron the shirts in the office so I don’t have to worry about them getting wrinkled in transit. Ok, so clothes are taken care of.

Everything else is just an accessory to make the actual bike riding part safer and more comfortable. Most important are lights, for me to see the road at night (the bike trail is not lit) and for others to be able to see me, especially cars. The first headlight I had didn’t work too well. It was dim and only used two AA batteries so I switched to an LED type that uses four AA batteries. On the back I have a highly visible flashing red LED. Every we weeks I recharge the batteries.

So night riding is accounted for. The only other conditions to consider are temperature and precipitation. Hot days are easy. Just wear less. Cold days require varying layers of clothing. I find a ski cap, gloves, long johns, a sweatshirt, exercise pants, and a sleeveless fleece are comfortable down to about 20 degrees (F) – and it rarely gets that cold. I have a balaclava which covers my whole head except for the eyes, but found I’m allergic to it so I don’t use it any more. Also, I use reflective velcro straps for my pant legs to keep them from making contact with the chain (and provide some additional night time visibility), and I switched from clipless pedals to flat pedals so I can wear normal shoes..

What happens if it rains? That’s the question I get a lot. Well the short answer is you get wet. I have a rain jacket. One at home and one at work prevents . It’s rarely needed, though in the spring I might need it more often. The other thing is a rear fender for the bike to prevent your backside from getting splashed by the tire. It’s very effective. And if the weather gets really bad, I still have the option of driving.

I’ve been commuting this way for about 7 months, from summer to fall and through winter. It requires a paradigm shift but is ultimately better and more rewarding. The bicycle is an incredible mode of transportation, and I can’t imagine going back to the grind and commuting every day with a car and all the hassle that comes with it.