Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

After months of procrastinating, I've decided to bite the bullet and ride to work for the first time on Monday (weather permitting - don't have any rain gear yet). It's a 12km one way trip and trial rides have taken me 30-35 minutes. It's a mix of on road with a reasonable shoulder and some quiet back roads.

End of trip facilities are basic but at least there is a shower and somewhere to store my gear. Only thing I'm a little concerned about is the parking situation. Whilst there is fairly high pedestrian traffic, it's still "out of the way". I will keep an eye on it as much as possible but if I make this a habit (which I'm hoping to) I may ask for more secure parking.

I'm looking forward to the ride but a little apprehensive as well. Hopefully it will work out well.

She'll be eggs mate.... don't stress too much about it.

The routine will be forever being tweaked and tuned as you figure out what works or may work better for you. Routes chop and change and lessons get learned. Just get into it and enjoy....

You'll love it and soon wonder why you didn't do it before. If you have a shower at work, who cares if it rains?

No luck needed Orion, just have fun before and after work.

DaveOZ wrote:You'll love it and soon wonder why you didn't do it before. If you have a shower at work, who cares if it rains?

that is the quote of all quotes

it is the question i have been asking myself since i started the bike commute to work followed by "wonder why no one else seems to do this?"

some tweeks here and there for what you need for your commute and how to carrie it to and from work but once that is sorted and your used to the ride like most of us you then will be working out how to make the ride in and home a bit longer

enjoy the rides champ

Thanks for the encouragement everyone,

I've got the bike and gear ready. I have a small issue working out how to fit the rear light in place. It's normally on the seat post, but the bag sitting on the rack will cover it so it's not much use there. I'm riding in day light but would like the extra bit of safety from the rear light.

I'll leave around 7.30am and should get to work just after 8am so that's a good half-hour ride to start the day.

i have two rear lights one is the one on the seat post (i don't have the saddle bags) and the other is clipped onto the backpack on my back

so maybe your able to clip it on the bag sitting on the rack or even maybe onto your shirt or shorts somewhere

Hi - welcome to cycle commuting!

Rear lights can often be mounted on your helmet with a zip tie, or on the back of your rack again with a zip tie.

Recently at work we have been asked to register our bikes to park them in the loading dock in the designated bike parking. However I'm hesitant to park $3,000 there and take it up the goods lift to a nook near my desk at work. No one even notices it.

Best of luck on the roads!

JM

A lot of racks have a mount for a rear light. That's what I use and it is a very good spot for a rear light. If there is no mount there, could you drill a hole or do something similar?

DS

Good luck with the ride tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it and do it more often I have just started riding to work and have ridden each day for the past 2.5 weeks. I'm loving it...even on the days it has rained.

Well I made it

The ride took me about 40 minutes which was a bit longer than the trial rides. But I didn't consider the extra weight of my gear (work clothes, lunch, etc, etc - will have to wittle it down I guess). Also, there was a pretty stiff headwind all the way but at least that will be a tail wind on the way home....

I forgot a couple of things like deodorant but that's no big deal. The shower has only cold water but since the weather is warming up it's okay - just takes the breath away for a few seconds. I was even encouraged to store my bike in a storeroom in a secure building here on campus (I work at a University) instead of at the bike racks outside so it will be protected from the weather and light fingers.

I still haven't worked out the rear light situation yet. There is no provision to mount a light on the rear rack (though there is a mount for the reflector). I'll see what I can work out.

It was a good ride overall and I'm feeling pretty good. Like DaveOz said, I don't know why I didn't do it before. Looking forward to the ride home.

Well done

Orion wrote:I still haven't worked out the rear light situation yet. There is no provision to mount a light on the rear rack (though there is a mount for the reflector). I'll see what I can work out.

Here is a pic of the two lights on the back of my rack. They came with a bracket that had two parts screwed together - the dovetail clamp for the light and the ring clamp for the seat post. I unscrewed the two parts, then found a nut and washer to put on the other side. The rack bracket can be bent to aim it. It sits low enough that it doesn't interfere with my Topeak MTX bag.


Let me know if you want a better pic.

This is the model of light I have, can be found under various brands:

buy a radbot 1000, thank me later.

well done btw

Thanks for the tips!

I will have a good look this afternoon when I get home and see if I can come with something for the rear light.

Well done!

+1 on the radbot 1000 ... Best tail light I've seen.

Anyone want to start a book on how long it is before upgraditis sets in?

Well done and welcome to the outside!

i like the tioga dual eyes. got great reviews and is super bright. and super cheap mine were $12 each!

Only problem is that they are not rechargable but whack some rechargeable aaa's in and your sweet.

Onya Orion & welcome to the club

My tail-light system is a work-in-progress too - have an el cheapo clip-on blinky that migrates between backpack / saddlebag / rack-bag depending. Doesn't sit very securely on the rackbag so I've stuck one of those little stretch-silicone ones on my helmet, all the better to be visible at "urban assault vehicle" eye level. Living to tell the tale so far, but yeah, that radbot does look pretty ... *gulp* ... "flash"?!

I'll get my coat ------------->

Radbot looks OK but nothing special. I like having two independent lights for two reasons: one, redundancy if one fails or the batteries die, and two, they flash at slightly different rates which sets up an unusual "beat" pattern between them which is very attention grabbing.

Nicest light on the market I have seen is the Niteflux Redzone, not cheap but very durable and has excellent beam spread.

MattyK wrote:Radbot looks OK but nothing special. I like having two independent lights for two reasons: one, redundancy if one fails or the batteries die, and two, they flash at slightly different rates which sets up an unusual "beat" pattern between them which is very attention grabbing.

the reason for the radbot is if that batteries fail you have an inbuilt reflector.

i'd like the add a rear helmet light. the niteflux looks interesting

jasonc wrote: the reason for the radbot is if that batteries fail you have an inbuilt reflector.

Plus... by law (at least in QLD) you are required to have front and rear reflectors. On a road bike with limited options you can do both with one gadget with these. Plus... shining a car light back at the source is always going to beat what you can do with an LED.

Thanks for all the ideas everyone,

I've clipped the rear light onto the back of my helmet for now but I will look at getting a brighter light like the Radbot in the near future (Hmmm, Christmas ain't that far away )
I've already noticed a difference in how I feel during the day. When I drive to work usually I start to slump by midday but after riding the bike I feel alert almost all day. I also look forward to the ride home in the arvo. It gives me a chance to work off a bit of stress and it gets me moving after sitting on my rear end for most of the day.

Thanks again for the encouragement. I intend to keep riding

Orion wrote:I've already noticed a difference in how I feel during the day.

bad news, you're hooked. welcome to the club

Orion wrote: I intend to keep riding

Great to hear that gives noobies like me encouragement too.

Ps. I'm hoping for Christmas I'll get a new jersey

erin wrote:

Orion wrote: I intend to keep riding

Great to hear that gives noobies like me encouragement too.

Ps. I'm hoping for Christmas I'll get a new jersey

ask for full zip and long sleeve. i didn't care about names so I've got 3 from the abcoutlet (.com.au)