Overcoming the Obstacles to Riding to Work

Acquaintances learning for the first time that I ride my bike to work often remark that they would like to ride to work, but are prevented from doing so by a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: they don't feel safe sharing the road with cars; it's too far; or there's no place to shower once they get there. These are real and valid concerns that are shared by many potential bike commuters, and might be concerns that are keeping you from giving bike commuting a try. But the truth is that a growing number of people who ride a bike for transportation in Austin have figured out ways to overcome those same obstacles – and you can do it, too. Following are the three barriers that are most often cited to me by would-be bike commuters, and some ideas for breaking those barriers down.

Safety

The reason for not commuting that I hear most often is fear of riding alongside cars. The rapidly growing population of Austin means ever-increasing congestion on our city's streets, making it essential that drivers and cyclists learn to "share the road, y'all." Sharing the road may seem intimidating at first, but there are steps you can take to enhance your safety, increase your confidence around cars, and decrease the likelihood that you will have a close encounter of the vehicular kind.

Of course, I cannot cover all of the factors that go into safe urban riding in a single article. But as a starting point, I believe there are three factors you can control that are essential to creating the safest possible bike-commuting experience: route selection, visibility, and following the rules of the road.

Route Selection: The safest and most enjoyable route for you to take on your bike is probably not the route you use when driving your car. You can ride on Lamar, Bee Caves Road, and Guadalupe north of 24^th St., but why would you want to, especially during peak traffic hours, when there are less stressful options just a block or two away? So, the first thing you want to do is to figure out a good way to get from your home to your office on a bicycle.

A great tool to help you map a ride inside the city is the Austin Bicycle Map, available at most area bike shops for $2.00, and on-line at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/bicycle/downloads/bicycle%20map_07.pdf. The map takes the work out of route selection because the streets are color coded for ease of use based on factors like traffic volume, availability of shoulders or bike lanes, and incline. Study the map and you may be surprised to find that you have many "high ease of use" options for getting to your job, without adding much distance to your usual "driving" route.

Another resource for mapping out your route is other bicycle commuters. Ask people you know who ride to work for their suggestions on a good route for you to try. Most bike commuters I know will enthusiastically share their ideas, and will sometimes offer to ride with you the first time.

Once you've mapped your route, you may want to take a test run on a Sunday morning to work out any kinks that may not be apparent on paper. The low volume of traffic at that time on the weekend gives you a chance to focus on where you're going without the distractions of work-day rush hour traffic.

A couple of approaches to route selection that I've adopted may also resonate with you:

· Avoid streets on busy bus routes, especially around the University of Texas, or you'll end up playing leapfrog with a bus for blocks on end, which is not only irritating but potentially unsafe.

· Alleys make bad shortcuts. Dumpsters mean a lot of broken glass and unpleasant odors. But more importantly, drivers are not looking for a bicycle to come out of an alley onto the street. Which brings me to the issue of your visibility.

Visibility. It may go without saying that you increase your visibility by wearing light or reflective clothing, and mounting a headlight on your handlebars and at least one bright blinking light visible from the rear if you're riding after dusk. But visibility is also about positioning yourself while you're riding to increase the probability that drivers will see you.

When approaching a line of cars stopped at a signal-controlled intersection, position yourself in line behind the car in front of you where you can see the driver's face in the outside rear-view mirror. Do not stop in a car's blind spot. Do not trust that drivers indicate their intention to turn (they often don't). I often stop to the left of the center line of the lane, where I can see the driver's face in the driver-side outside rearview mirror. In addition to ensuring that the driver can see me, that position also makes me visible to cars on the opposite side of the intersection who might otherwise not see me before starting a left turn through the intersection.

Four-way stops present another visibility issue. Drivers approaching or stopped at the intersection may actually look past you, further down the street on which you're traveling, because they're looking for approaching cars, which are larger and faster than a cyclist. Their view of you may also be obstructed by the corner post of their vehicle, especially with large pick up trucks. The safest step you can take at a four-way stop is to make eye contact with the driver before proceeding into the intersection, even when you know you have the right of way.

Increasing visibility also means not riding where people are not looking. Don't ride the wrong way on a one-way street, or against the traffic anywhere else. Drivers are not looking for vehicles coming from that direction. Which is a nice segue to my next section.

Rules of the Road. Few things you can do will have a greater impact on your overall safety than following the rules of the road. If you already know the transportation rules applicable to bikes and cars, follow them. If you do not, please take the time to learn them before you start riding in traffic.

The Austin Cycling Association has made learning the rules convenient by offering monthly traffic cycling skills courses taught by instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists. The two-day course includes a classroom segment the first day, followed by and on-bike segment that puts you out on the streets for real-life application of the information you learned in the classroom.

ACA has planned a special street course for Bike Month on May 23 and 24, the classroom portion of which will take place at the downtown REI store. You'll learn the laws and rules that apply to cyclists, how to ride predictably and competently in traffic, how to avoid the most common bike collision situations. For details on the dates, times, and cost of the courses, contact ACA president Stanton Truxillo at stgetr@att.net.

Another handy resource to refresh your knowledge of road rules can be found on that City of Austin Bike Map I told you about. It contains an excellent review of state and local bicycle laws, as well as tips for safely positioning yourself in traffic.

Distance

If you live a substantial distance from where you work, there is no rule saying that you must ride your bike the entire distance. "Multi-modal transportation" is the trendy new phrase used to describe an approach I adopted when I first started riding to work eight years ago. At that time, I lived approximately twelve miles from my office. That twelve miles included Jester Boulevard and Spicewood Springs Road. It was too daunting for me to take on all at once. I decided to take a phased approach to my bicycle commuting routine, and to start by driving part of the way.

My first step was to call a church located approximately half-way between my home and office and ask them if I could park my car there three non-weekend days every week, which they graciously permitted me to do. I would load the bike in the car, drive to the church, and ride the last six miles. Over time, I gradually moved further from downtown, usually finding a shady, non-metered street on which to park the car. After a few years, I was riding the entire distance from my home three days a week.

Another multi-modal approach if distance is an obstacle for you is to use a Capital Metro bus to transport you and your bike part of the way. All full-size Capital Metro buses now include bike racks. For more information, visit the "Bikes on the Bus" page of Capital Metro's website, at http://www.capmetro.org/riding/bikes.asp.

The Details: Hygiene, Clothes, Bike Storage, Flats

A national website offering hints for bicycle commuting notes that most bicycle commuters don't shower at work, and suggests riding at a slow pace to stay cool. The author of that article obviously hasn't lived in Austin during the summer. You're not going to stay cool riding to work in July; I don't care how slow you ride. The good news is that with a little effort, you can usually figure out a way to get cleaned up and presentable for an office environment.

Many large office buildings or complexes have showers somewhere on the premises; it's just a matter of finding out where they are and getting permission to use them. I had been riding my bike to work for three months before I learned that my downtown building has a locker room with a shower in the basement. Ask building management or the maintenance personnel if there might be a shower available for your use.

If you have a fitness center membership, check to see if they have a facility near your office. If not, consider joining one close to where you work. Depending on how often you ride your bike, you may be able to offset the cost of the membership by reduced parking fees.

Rumor has it that Mellow Johnny's, scheduled to open downtown in May, plans to provide shower facilities sometime in the future. You heard it here first.

If all else fails, shower at home and use Rocket Shower, a showerless personal hygiene product developed by an Austin bicycle commuter. You can learn more about Rocket Shower at http://www.10nine8.net/why.html, and you can buy it at several area bike shops and at Run Tex.

Ensuring that you arrive at your destination with all of the clothes you need for the day is another manageable challenge. If you're lucky enough to have that gym membership close to the office, the ideal set up is to keep a pair of shoes and several changes of clothes in a locker there. On days you drive the car to work, or if you're running errands in the car on the weekend, bring new outfits to your locker for the following week. If you don't have a locker, and depending on the location of your office relative to your shower facilities, you may be able to keep clothes in your office.

If you aren't fortunate enough to have a locker available, you'll need to transport your clothes with you on the bike. Some bike commuters prefer panniers or other bags designed to attach to racks mounted over the rear tire because it frees the rider from the weight and heat of a backpack or courier bag. If your bike does not have brazons to mount racks, you can purchase a rack that attaches to the seat post with a quick-release mechanism that will carry up to about 20 pounds. The disadvantage of rack-mounted bags is the time and effort it takes to attach and detach the bag at each end-point of the ride. The choice may also be influenced by the bike you ride. If you sit relatively upright, a standard backpack may work for you. I've come to prefer a courier bag when I need to transport clothes, my lunch, or my laptop. I like the way the weight is distributed, and the straps are designed to hold the bag in place even when you're riding in the drops (which is not true of standard backpacks). Courier bags also make you look cool, which is a very important factor in deciding how to transport your stuff.

Storing your bike while you work is another logistic you need to put a little thought into. On Bike to Work Day last year, a friend who rode her bike to work for the first time was surprised to learn that bicycles were not allowed in her office building. Having planned to take the bike to her office on the freight elevator, she did not have a lock with her. By the time she worked out a solution, the morning's fun had been replaced by anger and frustration. Plan ahead so that this doesn't happen to you.

On the "best" end of the bike-storage spectrum are bicycle lockers: giant metal boxes into which you roll your bike, close the door, and take the key. You never have to worry about having your seat bag swiped or your bike vandalized. In Austin, the only bike lockers I'm aware of are located in the parking garage at 600 W. 6^th St. They are available for rent for $20 a month.

I would place locking your bike up outside your office building on the street on the "worst" end of the spectrum. Better options would be taking the bike into your office, if allowed, or locking the bike to a rack in a parking garage monitored by security personnel. If you're locking the bike to a rack anywhere, invest in a sturdy lock, and position it so that it encircles the front wheel, the bike frame, and the rack.

One final word about bike-commuting preparation: flats. They happen. Carry a spare tube, tire lever, and pump or CO₂ cartridge – and know how to use them.

Now is the perfect time to give bike commuting a try. REI is offering a commuter clinic on Thursday, May 15, at 7 p.m. at the Gateway location, perfectly timed to prepare you for Bike To Work Day on Friday, May 16^th. For details on these and many other Bike Month events, visit the Bike Month page of the ACA website at austincycling.org. There are many other on-line resources for bicycle commuters, as well, offering advice on commuting bicycles, accessories, on-bike clothing, and other commuting considerations. One site crammed with helpful information is offered by the League of American Bicyclists at http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/pdf/BTWW_Booklet.pdf.

I hope the ideas in this article will help you look at riding to work as a viable and preferable alternative to driving your car. With gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, it's time to re-think the one-person/one-car mentality that has pervaded Texas culture for so long. If you give bike commuting a fair chance, I believe you will also find that the benefits to you personally will far surpass simply saving money. You may recapture that feeling of joy you experienced as a child, when your bicycle was your ticket to freedom and exploration. You may also rediscover the simple pleasures lost to drivers encased in their cars: the smells of bacon wafting through kitchen windows in the morning, the sound of water sprinklers on a summer evening, the chance to exchange greetings with joggers and neighbors walking their dogs. By following some of the suggestions offered here, and by developing your own routines and preferences, I'm convinced that you will soon be arriving at work on your bike safely and with a big smile on your face.