Last Thursday's Hometown Weekly had an article on page 7 by Abby Davidson about biking to work that inspired me to share my experiences in the hope others may take up the challenge. Last year, I rode my bike about 1250 miles around 50 days of the year from my home in Westwood to my office near South Station. I wish I could do it more often; the only thing that gets in the way for me now is the heat of the summer and lack of a shower at my new office location. But there are many steps you can take to get started small and work up to more activity...

• Bike to the train. I ride to the 128/University Park train station more often this time of year. It's only 3-4 miles, so I can do it in 15 minutes and catch the 830 train and be at work by 9. I can ride to the Islington T in 3 minutes, but there are fewer trains.
• Use YMCA showers. When I worked in the South End, the Chinatown YMCA was only 1/2 mile from work so I used my Needham Y membership to go to the Chinatown Y, shower and dress, then ride very leisurely to work.
• Pedal more slowly to avoid sweating. When I lost the shower option, I learned how to sweat less and can still manage a commute all the way to Boston if the temperature is under 60 degrees and it's not humid. My bike is a fixed gear, so I am not spinning as fast as I used to on a road bike. The speed difference is not nearly as much as I thought it would be.
• Keep a change of clothes at work. I have shoes, jeans, belt at work and carry only underwear and shirt on the bike. The less weight the better.
• Use cycling shoes that are made for walking like these. If you are already an avid cyclist, you probably use clipless pedals. I have shoes like the Shimanos at REI that can be worn in the (casual) office. Don't wear those roadie shoes to work.
• If you are commuting 5 miles or more, I think you should wear the "kit"; i.e. moisture wicking jersey and padded shorts--jeans are OK for 3-4 miles, then they start to chafe. But you can experiment...I've seen people wearing all kinds of stuff to work. But I think it's better to stand out as a brighly colored dork than not be seen by a car.

One of the big concerns everyone has is safety. I have found the most important thing to help ride safely is attitude:

• Respect cars as though they were wild animals.
• Behave predictibly.
• Don't get mad. You just can't let yourself get angry about what some motorist does or says. They yell at you and move on. But if you get angry, you become distracted and then you do something stupid or fail to sense a new danger. Just go with the flow...
• Pay attention. It's no fun if you are white-knuckle riding all the time, but you really have to assume the cars don't see you and ride defensively. Anticipate. You cannot let yourself ride on autopilot. Cycling is a much more active process than driving.

Routes

I think choosing a predictible route and learning all the hazards is more important than believing any particular road is safer than another. For my route in to Boston, I take Washington St to Dedham Square, then cut under the bridge to use East Street to go around the circle and continue Washington all the way to Forest Hills. Then, I use the Southeast Corridor Park to get to Northeastern, where I take Columbus in past Mass Ave, then work my way through the South End to Cross the Broadway bridge and go up the Fort Point Channel by Gillette to my office on Summer St in Southie.

Coming home, I reverse the route, but often turn left at the top of Bellevue hill and follow Eneking Parkway/Dedham Parkway over to the Endicot Estate, East St., and Rustcraft to Elm and eventually Washington St. I avoid the downhill on Washington Street in West Roxbury because I crashed there once at 30mph and the drivers are just insane with no expectation of bikes in the right lane.

If I lived on the 109 side of town, I would use a completely different route; I used to live in Needham and I would get over to Greendale Ave, to Kendrick, and follow Brookline Ave, Newton, Grove to Goddard Ave down by Larz Anderson Park, through JP and pick up the Souteast Corridor Park at the Heath-Bromley projects. Sorry, I didn't make that sound very fun did I? I never had a problem. The hardest part there is Goddard St by the Park School because it is a winding downhill adventure. Coming home that way...is a pretty good workout to climb that hill again.

Conclusion - Just Do It!

I really recommend trying the bike to train option. It save $3 parking and is a low stress way to get started. I believe the bike racks at the station are pretty secure--more secure than anything in the city. Getting to the train station involves a few high traffic areas, but nothing like the city. With my walkable biking shoes, I can roll up my jean pant legs, throw my messanger bag over my shoulder and bike to the train on a nice 70-degree morning and get on the train before I break a sweat.