You know all the facts about carbon emissions. You know most of your trips are short and rideable. You know that bicycle trailers, utility racks, milk crates, and saddlebags are inexpensive and reliable. What you may not know are some of these tricks for replacing your automobile miles with cycling miles. Enjoy . . . and ride on! (Disclosure: the author works in a local bike shop).
Practice Vehicular Cycling (see "Resources"/"Vehicular Cycling" on this web site). Automobile laws and street design were originally framed in the late nineteenth century to facilitate the introduction of bicycles to the horse and pedestrian environment of the modern town. Let's turn the clock back and make bicycles part of the vehicular environment again.
Get over your fear of sweat. Exercise perspiration usually does not smell bad, and it dries quickly in an air-conditioned environment. Commuting isn't racing, and you don't need to work up a sweat to get where you are going.
Know your 'hood. The quickest distance between two points is not always a straight line. Know which thoroughfares favor cycling with bike lanes, roundabouts, yield signs, wide streets, and no on-street parking. Generally, lots of car traffic and congestion means traffic and congestion for bicycles as well.
Wear bicycle-appropriate clothing. Tuck your pants into your socks to avoid "shark-bite" from a greasy chain. Wear light-colored clothing in warmer weather and at night. Reflective material on your shoes and backpack helps drivers identify you as a cyclist (along with your lights). Keep the tie and vest off until you get to work, same goes for a belt (it can be uncomfortable while riding). Avoid wearing performance chamois, lycra, and other competitive equipment unless you are on a very long commute. The trouble and time of getting geared up this way are usually not justifiable for most commutes.
Wear weather-appropriate clothing. There are few days out of the year in Florida when you need more than a jacket, headscarf, and gloves to commute. Keep a change of clothes at the office if you must dress formally for work. In Gainesville, rain gear isn't usually necessary except for the rainy season around February. Plan your day around our regular afternoon showers in the summer and fall. Most workplaces don't mind if your late from the rain, just know what is expected of you and plan take a bus on the few days you can't beat Mama Nature.
Don't be shy about riding to work. You may feel the oddball at first, but your flush face and happy demeanor will quickly infect your co-workers with the desire to commute. If you have a difficult boss or co-workers, explain to them that you work more efficiently after a commute. Besides, you're leaving a parking space open for those people who insist on driving!
Shop intelligently. The slow-food movement emphasizes fresh ingredients produced locally or nearby. Usually this means buying smaller amounts of food with more trips to the fresh market. Cycling is ideally suited to this type of shopping. If you don't have saddle bags or a trailer, plan your rides home from work through a nearby shopping location so you can carry smaller amounts in a backpack.
Don't over think commuting. You don't need a bunch of fancy gear, an expensive bicycle, or even a lot of physical fitness to commute. We know commuters who don't own cars and ride thirty-year-old bikes to work and school regularly, some without visiting the bike shop more than once a year. While it is preferable to have a helmet, rear rack, fenders, and saddle bags, you should never avoid cycling because you don't own these items.
Use your gears. It is clear by chain and sprocket wear that many commuters never change gears. This is bad for your bicycle (uneven wear and tear), for your knees and other joints (pushing too big of a gear can hurt them), and it makes you slow. Even minor graded elevations, wind velocities, and small cargo weights require shifting. Always be spinning comfortably. This means not "mashing" or "stomping" on the pedals, but it also means avoiding the high pedal cadence of competitive cycling. At commuter speeds, competitive cadences (90 rpms or so) are not always the most efficient.
Invite a cycling advocate to your workplace, classroom, church, or other group. BikeGainesville can put you in touch with someone who will help your peers plan commutes, get over their fear of cycling in the street, and make the world safer for cycling.
Establish "ride pools" instead of car pools. Pick up co-workers or fellow students on nearby routes to ride in groups on the way to work or school. This encourages commuting, fraternity, and it makes you safer on the road by creating a group presence on the street.
Carry flat repair equipment. Don't be that co-worker that brags about not using their car, then calls a friend from work to pick up you and your flat bike. Everyone should be self-sufficient for minor repairs and flats. If you don't have a friend who rides and repairs bikes, most bike shops will let you watch them fix a flat, or even show you how. It is good for business!
Don't ride harder than necessary. Many performance cyclists avoid commuting because they are tired from training or racing. They think you have to go fast and hard to get to your destination. But commuter cycling can be very relaxing. In fact, at most reasonable speeds, you will be using fewer calories per mile traveled than if you were walking. A human on a bicycle is the most efficient machine known to science, and there is no reason to come to work dizzy and tired (unless that is your goal!).
Get a real bike. That department-store contraption is fine if you're on a budget, but a good bike-shop quality bike with a service plan (one year free tune-ups is the industry standard) will more than pay for itself in even a few months of commuting. Utilize a friendly bike shop or experienced commuter when buying a bike from Craig's List, e-bay, or a private seller.
Favor function over fashion. Fixed-gear, no-brake, vintage road, and other "hip" bicycles are rarely convenient, practical, or safe for serious commuting. If this is all you have, ride it. If you have a choice, get a geared bike with brakes. As to riding, stopping, turning, and accelerating fastly and safely, geared bikes with brakes will always prevail. Bike messengers (the royalty of bicycle commuters) have graduated to geared and braked bikes, so should we!
Use the right bike. If you have a stable of rides, pick the one that commutes most comfortably. While that road bike might seem like the best choice, its saddle, frame geometry, gearing, and materials are not the best for loaded utility cycling in traffic. A sturdy upright bike may be slower, but it will be more comfortable for the constant stopping, starting, and towing of weight that commuting entails.
Be safe, secure, and legal. Bicycles are vehicles and require under law certain devices. All bicycles should have two hand brakes (coaster brakes are not as efficient, but the bikes typically travel at slower speeds), a front and rear blinking headlamp, fresh tires and tubes (to avoid wrecks from blowouts), and a U-lock and wheel cable (to prevent theft). Use your lights at dusk, dawn, and night.
Get your peers involved. Leading by example is fine, but when was the last time you helped someone buy a bike, set up a saddle bag, or learn how to negotiate traffic. Just talking about commuting is, well, just talking! Get your friends and co-workers to commit to replacing their car miles with bike miles. This is the easiest and most rewarding way to spread the commuter bug.
Avoid the "anti-car" mentality. Lead by example, and by advocacy, not by berating your peers for their car-bound ways. Our entire civilization is dependent upon the combustion engine for food, fuel, medical supplies, travel, and general recreation. Being self-righteous won't win you any fellow travelers in the new "ride-to-work" pool!