Bike commuter here. I ditched the second family car a couple of years ago and any time I'm going somewhere without my wife within the city, I'm on my bike. I average about 20 miles per day between commuting to work and other errands around town. I'm also in a less-than-ideal bike city (at least that's what I'm told, I don't think it's that bad... maybe I'm just desensitized at this point). My advice may or may not be all that helpful but I'll offer it anyway:
Find your mental happy place, your "zen" if you want to call it that. For me, that was understanding that I can't control what other people do and just expect it, handle it and move on. I'm far happier if I don't let things outside of my control bother me. Stuff in the bike lane, aggressive drivers yelling at me, inattentive drivers turning in front of me. I have found that if I just expect every car to turn in front of me and every bike lane to be blocked, I don't get mad and I just shake my head and move on with my life. Part of this, too, has been exploring alternate routes. If I take a route that's full of inattentive dockless scooter riders, maybe I'll see if I can find a less crowded way to get through that section of my route, even if it means adding extra to the route. My last piece of advice is to check out Ride with GPS's route planner <https://ridewithgps.com/routes/new> and their public heatmaps. I have found that this, in conjunction with Google Map's bike navigation can help me avoid bad roads and ride routes that other cyclists ride regularly. To me, this indicates that either there is good infrastructure along that route or, at the very least, drivers might be more accustomed to seeing bikes along that route. I hope you found that information helpful. On Thu, Oct 26, 2023 at 10:26 AM Michael Morrissey < michaelgmorris...@gmail.com> wrote: > Lately I have been biking to work again, from my home in Queens to work in > Manhattan. Unfortunately, my commute is less than ideal. There are few bike > lanes in my neighborhood. I leave at 6:30, when it’s dark and cold outside. > There are lots of big trucks and fast drivers. It’s hilly. Then, when I get > to the bike lane section of the ride, it’s crowded with electric bikes, > deliveristas, and stand-up electric scooters. > > My commute is 7.8 miles point to point, and I make it in about 53 minutes. > I started keeping track of my times on Strava. I like looking at my records > (eastbound across Central Park in 1:40!) but I feel Strava is mostly a > record of how long I get stuck at red lights. There are so many stoplights > that I struggle to raise my average speed over 11 MPH. > > I use one Ortlieb bag, and I’ve tried to lighten my load as much as > possible. Yet, I still feel like I am carrying a lot to work. One thing > I’ve been doing is rolling my work clothes and putting rubber bands around > them. That helps with the organization. > > I’m riding my Rivendell Appaloosa with a big back rack and fenders. > Fortunately, even after riding it for about 7 years, the bike still feels > amazing. I also feel great getting so much exercise, and I find I feel I > have more energy on days I ride compared to when I take the subway. > > I was wondering if anyone has any bike commuting advice? I’m finding it > hard to stay motivated. I want advanced level advice - not just “keep your > tires pumped up,” but more along the lines of “Buy 5 Bromptons and have > your wife drop them off at work every Sunday so you can ride one home per > day.” One thing I might try is a lighter wheelset on the same bike. As Bill > Lindsay said, “If everybody had a gravity knob on their bike, we would all > peg it to the minimum.” > > Thanks, > > Michael > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/de3b3a3b-631f-4ca8-84ac-700bf9126434n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/de3b3a3b-631f-4ca8-84ac-700bf9126434n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Ted Wood < ted.l.w...@gmail.com > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CANCvShpmT8-XYPMHyv1k0%2B7TATFGYoK1ydfLwe3r_3wp%3DapV6g%40mail.gmail.com.
