Commuting

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I’m often asked by non-cyclists about how I clean up after my daily commute. After looking over the comments from my recent post about the contents of my commuter bag, this subject is of great interest to cyclists as well. Up until just a few months I had the best possible option, an actual shower. I’ve now tried a number of products and as you might expect, nothing lives up to the real thing. However, just because you don’t have an access to a shower doesn’t mean you have to give up riding to work.

Though many of us believed that it would never happen again, over the last couple of weeks we’ve seen some decent rain storms make their way through the city. Not nearly enough to make up for the drought, but it is a start. Normally, I must admit, I am a complete wimp when it comes to riding in the rain. I will usually avoid it at all costs. Which is funny because I don’t have any particularly bad experiences, but it just doesn’t strike me as the thing to do. When you decide to go car free, you don’t really have a choice and last week I had to make a couple of trips in the rain.

I was planning on writing a recap of my car free in Oklahoma City experiment every week, but last week was extremely busy so a two-week summary will have to do.  To be perfectly honest, this makes it easier because it has really been an uneventful transition to being car free.  I had planned on feeling some sort of anxiety or experiencing some real difficulties, but really it has been smooth sailing.  Some of this has been due to the heavy work load which has kept me mostly at home or at work.  But really, as much as you can come up with the need for a car, you can also just as easily allot a bit more travel time and make your way by bike.  I can certainly say the trip will be more enjoyable.

So far in my little experiment, I’ve really only been bicycling between home and work, which isn’t really a big change for me except that it’s my only option now.  However, because I’m now completely reliant on the bicycle to get me around, I have been attempting to make myself absolutely prepared for as many problems as possible.  I’m glad I did, since yesterday I had a nasty multiple puncture flat which thanks to equipment and planning was easily handled.  In light of this and because for some reason I’m personally always fascinated by “what’s in my bag” posts, here are my commuting bag contents:

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For the past year, I have participated in a few 30 Days of Biking events.  I truly love participating in these events and it reminds me of how much I love cycling.  Lately, I have thought about my days in Chicago.  My bicycle was my only means of transportation and it was incredibly liberating.  I began to wonder how that experience would work in Oklahoma City, where car is king.  I know car-free people who get around Oklahoma City just fine, but they have a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday schedules and are near bus routes.  I neither work a 9 to 5 schedule nor have bus routes available.  After I first returned to Oklahoma City after years in Chicago, I thought going car-free would be impossible.  Now that I feel more comfortable cycling in Oklahoma City, I feel like it might just be possible and enjoyable to be car-free.  So, I thought a fun experiment would be to attempt a month of car-free living right here in the Wild West.

Picture By: thinredjellies

So the other day, I got in an argument with a driver who honked at me for an extended period of time and then buzzed me. In the huge pantheon of silly, pointless things to do, arguing with motorists has got to be at the top of the list. Getting into shouting matches just reinforces the stereotype of bicyclists as loudmouthed jerks. Even though I know I was in the right and just trying to be safe, it ruined my day.  By the time I got to work, I was angry, frustrated and just mad at the world generally.

Norman is improving and expanding the bicycle routes throughout the city.  Hopefully Oklahoma City will start improving the street routes as well.  I’d love to see a route going down to Norman and out to Lake Thunderbird for a great camping weekend.

Yellow “Share the Road” signs to urge motorists and bicyclists to coexist peacefully and safely will be popping up around town as the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee works to make roads safer for both.

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I know it’s hard to imagine after yesterday’s beautiful weather, but we will get colder again.  Bike Hugger has some good tips about riding in the cold.  After the extremely cold weather last week, I’ve started taking some of these tips to heart.