Scooby Doo took a bike ride to work with me today
24 Apr
I rode my purple beach cruiser to work today. You may remember that I took it to the bike shop a few weeks ago to be repaired, and even though they didn’t do a very good job, I decided to chance it and give up my car for the day.
It cost me $35 to fill up my VW Golf yesterday, so something has to change.
So I filled up the Scooby Doo book bag my sister gave me a few years ago and hit the streets. It was pretty fun, especially when I was going down hill.
I can’t promise this biking to work thing is going to become a regular part of my routine. First, my bike is one speed, which makes getting up the hills a bit of a challenge (though avid-biker Donald swears it’ll get easier after two weeks). Second, I was a little sweaty by the time I got to the station, and it wasn’t even hot or humid out this morning. So I can’t imagine how icky I’d be during the summer. There’s no shower at work.
It took about 30 minutes, but of course I had to stop and take pictures. I think if I stick with it, I can make it to work in 20 minutes, which isn’t bad.
(I took a pic of my Scooby Doo bag because I think it’s too funny that it’s the only book bag I own).
If any of you can offer some tips on how to bike to work on warm mornings and still manage to look somewhat fashionable, I’m all ears. I know I’ll need a bigger bag, but cramming clothes, shoes, make-up and all my work gear into one bag might become tricky.
I bow to your green prowess. And your fashion! Did you actually ride your bike in a dress? That’s just impressive. Ride on, sister.
Yes, I did wear a dress, but in true Ginny style, I wore pants under it. I love pairing pants with skirts and dresses.
Good to start this habit in April rather than July. It would be great if some people used their tax rebates to get bicycles. Hmm…that’s just crazy enough to consider myself…
Ok, this definitely put a smile on my face this morning Ginny! I wish I lived close enough to bike to work.
Back in the day before kids who wouldn’t ride in bike trailers, I used to bike up and down impressive hills to work. Just find some powerful deo. It will not take long to build up the muscles and it will be a breeze. Wear cotton bicycle shorts and take them off when you get there (assuming you are wearing a dress! LOL) or change into regular pants after cooling off.
Necessary things to do during NC summers if you bike to work and work doesn’t offer a shower:
1) Have a fan at your desk.
2) Keep work clothes at work and change in and out of bike clothes to bike. (As opposed to stuffing clothes in a bag every morning or sweating up the clothes you have to wear all day.)
3) Make sure your workplace doesn’t have a shower. Sometimes they are hidden.
On the hills and the getting easier part… it has been my experience that no hill gets easier on its own. Hills are always hard, it’s just that ones that seemed hard at first aren’t as hard as the ones that seem hard now.
Yay biking. You rock!
Beck
Pedal Ginny… pedal! It WILL get easier. Just think… a little pain and sweat is FREE… gas is not. In the long run… you’ll also be in better shape than you would be from just sitting in the VW.
The fan is an awesome suggestion. Also, keeping clothes at work is also a good idea b/c then they won’t be all jumbled up in my bag (if I can even fit them in my bag). I did double check on the shower thing this morning, and we definitely don’t. It sucks b/c every newspaper I’ve ever worked at has a shower in the press room. And the Herald-Sun in Durham even had this creepy shower/work out room tucked away behind the presses.
I’ll note that I couldn’t ever coordinate having a wardrobe filled with the things I wanted to wear on any given day at work waiting for me. I did try that. I think if you wore a uniform, official or not (like a suit), then that would work better.
Scooby Doo. *swoon* I’m renting the first and second season of the original Scooby Doo episodes on Netflix right now.
Clothes at work is a good idea. Give yourself a few minutes to cool down before you change. A basket and/or rack on the bike would helpful, too. I find that a backpack makes me a lot hotter than carrying the same amount of stuff on my rack. I find it very hard to do without gears, but it may be possible to get a rear tire with a geared hub to give you some shifting ability if you’re very attached to your bike. And what did All-Star do or not do? I’ve had some really good experiences with the Falls/Millbrook All-Star but not all good experiences. I’m still deciding if they are “my” shop or not.
Way to go! Gearing on your bike can be changed. The rear gear can be swapped for one with more teeth that will make climbing hills easier. Even a couple of teeth in the rear can make a big difference. Others have already suggested the leave clothes trick.
You ought to point out to the station what other companies do to encourage this. For example, IBM has
That will definitely pose a problem for me because in addition to dressing for the weather, I also dress for my many moods. So I guess I’ll just have to keep a few staple pieces at work (black slacks and rotate out some shirts week to week).
A basket is a GREAT idea. But what if I’m going up a steep hill slowly? Won’t a basket loaded with items make that more difficult? I’ve heard that I could have my rear tire replaced to make it easier to ride, but I wasn’t sure of the correct terminology, so now I know what to ask for. I went to the All-Star on Wade, and I told them specifically that my rear tire was loose and that the pedals made a clinking sound when I rode my bike and I wanted both of those things fixed. Well, the tire is fixed, but the clinking sound is still very pervasive. I want to take it back and ask them to fix it (for free) but I feel like I probably should have test rode it around their parking lot before taking it home. Also, I almost feel like I’d rather start from scratch and take it to a new shop. Hmmm.
Those are awesome incentives that IBM offers, especially the free ride home.
For the record, the reason my sis gave me the Scooby Doo bag was because I flew home a few years ago … and after spending a few days there I had too much stuff to cram into my luggage. So my sis offered to give me her book bag to take on the plane (she had moved on to Bratz or some other girly thing so she was cool with me keeping it).
Baby wipes… they’re great for getting the sweat off of you, cooling you off, and giving you a just showered scent.
The fan at your desk is also a great idea. Best of luck!
J. Rees has the easier and cheaper solution. The gear on your back tire and/or the one connected to your pedals can be swapped out for a different size, making pedaling easier in general and making the hills more manageable. But then you’ll also have to pedal faster on level ground to go the same speed you’ve been going. Depending on your bike, I would expect that some sort of gearing option would be possible, too, but more expensive. I was suggesting an internal geared hub because I believe that might be easier to integrate into a bicycle that wasn’t made to have multiple gears, but I’m just guessing at that, so you’ll want to talk to a bike mechanic.
I sympathize with your repair issues. I had the same thing happen at REI in December. They did a tune up for me, but failed to address the one problem that had prompted me to bring it in, a clicking when I pedaled. Fortunately I test road it in the parking lot and brought it right back where, eventually, they fixed it for me. I really enjoy the guys at the Millbrook All-Star, so if you’re thinking of a change, that may not be too much farther away than Wade. I’ve also heard good things about The Bicycle Chain up on Glenwood near 540, but I’ve never dealt with them for repairs.
Just saw this in my green-a-day calendar. Would reduce perspiration:
http://cleverchimp.com/products/stokemonkey/
Even though your retro-looking cruiser bike is so cool (and i’m jealous!), I would recommend looking on Craig’s List for a bike with gears. I have a Giant bike that has gears and I finally got on it after not riding for 3 years (and 30 lbs lighter). I was surprised to find how much easier it was to ride than I thought it would be.
Are there businesses nearby that have a shower that might be friendly and let you use theirs?
I know, you’re right, I really do need a bike with gears … but I do love my bike oh so much. That’s a good suggestion about local businesses with a shower. There are some state government agencies located next to us, maybe they have one.