four season cycling

It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since I last rode a bicycle to work. For those readers who haven’t followed my previous blogs, I was known as the guy that would ride his bike to work every single day of the year no matter what the weather. From -32 degrees Fahrenheit to 101 degrees, from rain, to snow, to blizzard conditions to sideways sleet. I didn’t own a car from July of 2002 to March 2017. Bikes were my main mode of transportation.

Why did I stop riding bikes to work? That’s a long conversation. I’ll say this, it came down to changes in jobs and aging/health issues. Nothing serious. Back in 2014/2015 I hit a point I couldn’t recover well from five days in a row of bike commuting. I decided to save my limited energy for the recreational/adventure rides I love so much. Then in March 2017 I got hired at my present employer. I needed a car some days for the work I was going to be doing. So I bought a car. It’s the first car I’ve bought since 1995.

Recently I realized how much I was missing my bike commutes. I also realized I only need a car available to me at work 2-3 times a month. This past month I didn’t use it once during the work day. I decided it was time to get back into some limited bike commuting. This week I rode a bicycle to work and home both Monday and Tuesday.

I can’t tell you how fantastic it was to be riding a bike to work again. I was reminded of how alert I feel by the time I arrive to work. I’m more productive and just feel better emotionally and physically.

From 2001 to 2015 I worked for one employer. I had a secure place to park my bicycles. Thinking I may work there forever, every successive bike I bought got more and more expensive. This caused a dilemma for me at me current employer. There is no secure place to park a bike at this building. Or I should say, no place I felt was secure enough to leave my bike locked up all day. I thought if I could bring my bike in the building I have plenty of room in my office. But, my office is a long walk from the front door and requires me to go up one floor, navigate that floor before going back down one floor to where my office is located. I figured it best if I asked permission. I finally had the opportunity to broach the subject with our company CEO. She was completely on board with my request.

I didn’t have my Brompton in mind when I made the request. Once I thought about it, the Brompton is the perfect bike for this mission.

Once again, I am a bicycle commuter. It has made me very happy. I will be a part-time bike commuter, but I’ll take it.

What else is new? I purchased a couple of Revelate Designs bags for my Pugsley. Currently I use my Pugsley as my all-road/trail bike. A friend and I are planning a bikepacking overnighter before Fall. Even though I have front and rear racks and an assortment of panniers to choose from for the Pugsley, I thought I’d invest in some of the fancy dancy bikepacking gear.

Handlebar Harness and Egress Pack from Revelate Designs.

My bikepacking set-up circa 2008.

I haven’t test loaded them yet. I’m looking forward to using them. Stayed tuned for a trip report once this trip happens (might be mid September).