Lately it’s been really monotonous to do a gym workout. To break the monotony I started to ride my bike to work. It’s about 10 miles away and it is a challenging workout. It gives a different feel than riding a bike at the gym.  This also cuts out using a gallon of gas a day, which is good for my pocket book. I would say it helps the environment but for one car to leave the road is hardly helping. 

If you are looking at saving some money in your pocket book start by riding your bike to work, even if it is one or 2 days a week. It is a great experience and will help you stay healthy.

When riding your bike remember a few simple things:

-          Carry a spare tire / patch kit with you as well as a pump.

-          Keep your bike tuned up

-          Always watch out for traffic.

-          Check the weather forecast the night before / day of.

-          Leave earlier than normal.

- Carry a spare tire / patch kit

I can’t tell you how many times I have been saved by doing this. There is nothing worse than leaving work and going to your bike only to see a flat tire. There are a lot of ways to prevent this such as the green stuff you can buy to put inside of your tire and even buy tires with it in. There are also Armadillo tires that work really well at keeping the flat tires away.

- Keep your bike tuned up

The main reason to do this is the wheels on your bike don’t always stay round. With the spoke model the spokes will come loose the more you ride. This is very true in new wheels. Make sure you keep your bike wheels trued. This will help reduce the amount of energy it takes to move your bike. Keep your chain well lubed. It takes a lot of effort to move your bike. If you have a chain that is hard to move around then it will be hard on you.  Check your brake pads. Just like a car these wear out and make it harder to stop. Make sure your brakes are tight. As you use your bike the cables become loose and you will need to tighten up the cables. This is also true for your front and rear derailleur. If you take care of these basic things your bike will take care of you.

- Always watch out for traffic

Not everyone is watching out for bikes so make sure you watch out for traffic, especially driveways. I have been hit s few times by cars not paying attention and it is not a fun experience. I have learned to slow down on intersections and occasionally look back to make sure there are no cars ready to turn right.

- Leave a little earlier than normal

I found it takes me twice as long to get to work when I ride my bike. It’s not a big deal since it is a 15 minute drive in but you may not be expecting it. Also it helps if you can leave your office a little bit earlier than normal to avoid the rush hour traffic. I found coming home seems to be more dangerous than going to work. There are more cars on the road and the only thing they can think about is getting home as soon as possible.

Remember, riding your bike is something enjoyable to do and is great exercise at the same time. The more people that ride their bikes to work the sooner the infrastructure will change to accommodate more bikes on the road.