Response to article on biking today in LJS

I wrote this in response to a LJS article about a full time bike commuter and his wife that was in the paper today.


"Part time commuting is easy, too. I put some semi-slick tires on my old MTB (they ride better) and a different set of grips, and I drive part way then ride partway to work now as i'm building up to the whole trip. Most of my trip is on Lincoln City trails which are smooth, paved, and have some great regulars on them. I ride about 5 miles one way right now and I get to work in 35 minutes at a leisurely pace. I towel off at work, put on some more antiperspirant, and change clothes. I eat less crap food since I can't jump in my car for lunch. I get my exercise in for the day and some time to myself as well. You don't need a 1000 dollar bike or even a 500 dollar bike (craigslist is your friend), you don't need funny shorts or biker beanie caps. I'd recommend gloves and sunglasses and that's about it. Get a rack, and maybe a messenger bag or something and you are good to go. I weigh 280 and can do it, pretty quickly, so anyone can. Most of the rest of the world uses bicycles as a vehicle-they aren't toys. We Americans seem to be one of the few cultures that invents devices to simulate work, so we don't feel guilty about the lack of 'work' we do."