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Living the bike-to-work life
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Dr. Porter Storey, bike commuter
Many of us get excited during bike week when we get to play bicycling commuter on bike-to-work day. It’s fun to load all our work stuff into a humongous back pack, hop on our trusty racing bike and pedal off to work, casting ever-so-smug glances at each and every motorist that passes us that day. Bike-to-work day is an awesome event that for one day cuts down on energy use and carbon release while giving each participant a small taste of the commuter lifestyle.
There are, however, those among use who are not satisfied with riding a bike once a year, or even once a month. They may be a hardy few, but there are those who have adopted a bike-to-work life. A friend of mine, Dr. Porter Storey, Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and a consulting physician in palliative care at Kaiser Permanente in Louisville, is one such commuter.
Although not religious about it (there are days when snow or business commitments preclude cycling to work), Porter has been making the vast majority of his daily work commutes on a bicycle for about 35 years. He currently pedals the 10 miles each way between home and work three to four times per week. The reasons he chooses to do so range from the obvious (saves gas and cuts down on pollution) to the rational (exercise and weight management) to the nearly spiritual (it’s great fun and he gets to see some amazing sunrises).
At first blush commuting by bicycle seems pretty easy. You get on your bike and you ride to work. Of course just before you hop on the saddle it dawns on you that you might actually want some clothing that is more appropriate to work than your normal lycra biking outfit. So you gather up some basic clothing articles, only to then realize you will need something to tote your wardrobe in. And that’s when it dawns on you that maybe you should get geared up in a more methodical fashion before imbibing in the commuter lifestyle.
In his 35 years of experience, Porter has worked most of the kinks out, although he claims that part of the fun is learning new things and solving new problems on a regular basis. Starting with his bike, Porter rides a Specialized Cross bike that has plenty of room for wide tires and fenders. Riding in the rain is hard enough without having to put up with the drenching spray that comes off both tires on a wet road. In the summer Porter stuffs fairly wide road tires between his forks, but in the winter time he runs studded knobbies to combat snow and the dreaded black ice.
On the back of his bike is a rack that can shoulder throw-over panniers. In his panniers he carries a rain coat, his lunch, his clothing for the day (rolled up to defeat wrinkling) and a spare headlight. He leaves a pair of shoes and a pair of pants at work for about a week at a time to cut down on the weight and bulk that he has to transport each day. Of course he carries the normal array of tubes and tools along with a real pump to more easily overcome flats and slow leaks. As a safety and contingency measure, he has a rear blinking light permanently attached to his bike so if night or dusk overtake him he can at least make his presence known to any and all following motorists.
In the wintertime, things get much more intense for a bicycle commuter. For starters, excellent lights, front and rear, are an absolute necessity. A redundant set of each is a good idea, and spare batteries could keep you from a perilous grope home some night.
Lights are not the only concerns for winter riding. You will need warm clothing for all parts of your anatomy. A helmet cover, pile balaclava, wind proof jacket, warm gloves, warm leggings and shoe covers just for starters. As the days get even colder, you may need to add extra layers, Pogies for your hands and some serious foot protection. On truly cold days, Porter wears Neos overboots, which he keeps lashed to his pedals with Power Grips.
Although some cyclists will ride in ridiculous conditions, Porter chooses common sense over faux-valor when the thermometer drops below -20 or the roads are so snowy that he would have to seriously impede traffic to get to work. Even though he has carefully chosen his routes to put him on bike paths and shoulders as much as possible, there are some stretches where he has to share a lane with automobiles.
Fall may not be the brightest time to decide to ditch your car in favor of your bike, but, like smoking, the longer you put it off, the harder it will be to muster the gumption to kick the habit. My advice: try it tomorrow, and if that goes well, try again the next day. Before you know it, you too may become a bike-to-work addict.
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