Since I don’t have a blog, I figure I will use this to report about my first commute for your entertainment, inspiration and for advice.
10 mile commute from Reston, VA to Tysons. Most on a flat bike trail, sidewalks and some residential streets. I have done this commute hundreds of times on my bike, dozens of times running, once on cross country skis, and once on rollerblades. I just learned how to uni this summer, so I was eager to try it out. All I can do is freemount, ride and turn, I am learning hops and hoping to get to idling soon. Today is Car Free Day in the US, so I figured it was a good excuse to try.
I may try this again with some headphones, it was much slower than I expected. It took me about 1 hr 45 minutes, so I can run faster.
I now know why everyone says the Torker CX seat sucks! I had padded bike shorts and it was still uncomfortable after less than half the ride. Would appreciate any advice on seats (not commuting specific, just a good all around seat).
I was really surprised at what I could ride up, down and over. It was a great exercise and I have no doubt I am a much better rider after doing this. There was only one uphill that was too steep and I did every downhill with no problem.
I tried riding on a road with traffic once and opted for the sidewalk - I am not sure I would ride a road with any regular traffic no matter how good I get, I feel like I take up more real estate than on the bike.
Overall a great sense of accomplishment, I will try it again on this uni with headphones. I am not sure I am ready to invest in a big wheel commuter yet. It would be nice to try one out first.
I got alot of words of encouragement, smiles and thumbs up which was nice. Toward the end I could see a mom and her baby in a stroller with their back to me up the trail. The kid was having the meltdown of the century, when I pedaled around them I said “look at the man on the funny bike” and they both erupted in laughter! It made me feel really good about the ride!