On cycling shoes

I think part of the reason cycling is so prevalent in places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam is that people don't think twice about riding a bike to get somewhere. They just get on their bikes and go without worrying about wearing proper "cycling attire." They just wear their regular clothes. And regular shoes. And some look damn stylish doing it, too. (Also, see this article.)

The other day my 6-year old daughter wanted to wear her heels while we ran errands (Side note: I did not buy her these shoes). When we returned home, she wanted to ride her bike. First reaction: yes, of course! But then I balked and almost made her change shoes until I thought of the ladies in heels I've seen on the different "cycle chic" blogs and let her ride her bike as is. To compare:

                                                       Credit: Flickr / Amsterdamize

Now, mind you, she was just riding up and down the sidewalk and also went across the street so we could pick up her brother from grandma & grandpa's house. I can't comment on riding long distances in such shoes (for one, because I have never worn high heels), but it is apparent that, in general, cycling can be done quite successfully in various types of footwear. For further proof, witness the following gentleman in the minimalist, barefoot-like Vibram FiveFingers "foot gloves." I also have FiveFingers (and, yes, they are ridiculous looking), though, I have yet to bicycle in them. I will attest to having ridden my bikes in flip-flop sandals (aka slippers).

Credit: family//bike//words / Derrick Purvis

So, it goes without saying that you don't need special shoes to ride a bike. Many people will tell you that cleated shoe/pedal combinations don't even provide much (or any) benefit in terms of pedaling efficiency versus a normal shoe and bare pedal (or pedal with toe straps). I will not get into that debate here, but will concede that I do commute with dedicated cycling shoes with Crank Brothers pedals. My particular pedals have a large platform so that I can also ride with any type of normal shoe, should I choose to do so.

Getting my bell rung

Some of the bumps on my bike commute cause such a rattling that my bike bell will just ring itself. I guess it is a minor consolation when getting jostled about to hear the lovely ding of a fine brass bell.

Bike Commutes #16 to 21, in review

The last Bike Commute I really blogged about was #15, I think. Bike Commute #16 was pretty routine, at least I can't remember a thing about it now. I managed to jam Bike Commutes # 17 - 20 all in one week.

During spring break, the elementary school was closed. My mom came down to watch the kids for the week, so we didn't have to take any days off of work. I drove in to work on Monday that week, like usual. Tuesday we decided I would leave a car for my mom & the kids to use and I would carpool with my wife part way and then she would drop me off and I would bike to work. This would be a longer bike commute than normal, but I was up for the challenge.

 

Bike 21: Official!

This is sort of anti-climatic, but on April 14, 2010 I finally reached Bike Commute #21! Hooray!

At the outset of my venture into bike commuting, my goal was to ride to work 21 times. The reasoning being that it generally takes doing something for 21 days to really make it a habit. I'm stretching a bit since I knew I wouldn't be able to bike commute every work day for 21 days in a row. Still, 21 bike commutes seemed like a worthy goal. I started off in July 2009, and it was a rough start. I averaged one bike commute per month through the end of the year. Though my wife initially suggested that I could get a new bike upon reaching my goal, she let me get a new bike early on my birthday in December. You can see pics of my Masi Speciale CX here.

The new bike proved to be a jump starter, though, and as of today, I am averaging one bike commute per week for 2010. Another small motivator has been the friendly competition I've dubbed the Bike Commute Mileage Challenge that a co-worker started between us (or rather between fictional representations of ourselves, lest it get too personal, perhaps?). Initially I was hesitant to get into any kind of contest, friendly or not, since I was struggling to get started and my co-worker had been frequently riding his bike to work for awhile. Funny what a new bike and a new baby will do. Now the tables have turned. For me the new bike has been an effective stimulus for riding more, and getting the Wednesday commute routine down was also key. On the flip side, the joys and realities of fatherhood (and arranging day care) have slowed down my compadre substantially.

I've got close to 290 miles on my Masi now. That's great, but in terms of offsetting my automobile use, that 's not quite equivalent to a full tank of gas in my 2003 Saab 9-5 wagon, which averages about 22 mpg. That's a little disappointing to look at it that way, but it's better than if I was not bike commuting at all, right? You have to start somewhere.

So, what's next? If I stick to the once per week bike commute, I should be able to rack up at least 500 miles total for the year. Maybe my next goal will be to ride twice a week. I want to test the waters on some longer distance riding, but I also want to do a lot more utility cycling. I want to ride with my kids and get them excited about riding bikes. I need to get them off training wheels!

Part of my Twitter bio says: "(aspiring) part-time bike commuter." I think I'll take off the "aspiring" part now! I'm a full-fledged part-time bike commuter. Look out!

(Oh, by the way, today was Bike Commute #22. A post summarizing Bike Commutes #16-21 should be coming soon.)