May 14th, 2008
What about personal hygiene? Not every office is equipped with shower facilities. Verbrugge says that finding a nearby gym is helpful. Another option might be to leave a work wardrobe at the office to change to after freshening up in the office restroom.
Safety is also a concern, especially for female riders, says Verbrugge.
“People worry about what happens if their bike breaks down. Learning basic maintenance skills, like changing a flat, is important,” he says.
If you are going to commute by bike or just plan on biking for recreation, you also should learn the bike laws in your community. The Washington-area Bike Association makes it easy by posting the laws online including riding with the flow of traffic, bell requirements, sidewalk rules, and the requirement for lights at night.
Another helpful site for cyclists is the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition which has a detailed list of bike-related information ranging from fitting and equipping your bike to traffic basics and motorist conflicts.
Jim Gascoigne, president of Boston’s Bay State Bike Week has been making a 30-minute bike commute from the suburb of Arlington to Boston for the past five years. He says he has heard all the excuses not to commute by bike: too cold, too hot, safety issues, traffic, not a good enough bike, the clothes, night biking.
“It’s all about behavior change,” Gascoigne says. “Try it out six or seven times. Get comfortable with it — the bike, the clothing, the road. Maybe you can only bike one day a week. And that’s OK.”
Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media
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