Can I really do this?

Once I decided to seriously consider cycling to work, the first thing I did was ride to my workplace on a Sunday (we were closed on weekends), just to see if I could even do it. I had a 10-speed bike that I’d had since I was 16. It got me there and back home in about two hours, and I got some sense of the distance and physical demands. It was kind of tough, but not enough to deter me.

The next thing I did was buy a ten-session pass from a gym that had been built near where I worked, and on some days after work I went there and rode the stationary bike. I didn’t do any other training, and I figured after ten sessions I’d start commuting. For me, it was important to set small goals so that the prospect of this commute didn’t overwhelm me. I figured I could contribute to making the world a better place if I could manage to cycle to work one day a week, at least to start. That didn’t sound too bad, because 80% of the time I’d either be commuting in the cup-holding sanctuary of my minivan or my sometime carpool buddy’s K-car.

I needed some way to take a few things to work, so a backpack was pressed into service. My workplace environment was sort of office casual, so I could potentially ride in my work clothes. And so I began.

I learned lots from doing it, and I surfed the internet and looked for advice. In Part Three, I’ll cut to the chase and provide some ideas for the novice cycle commuter, based on the lessons I learned.