Cycled home from work for the first time yesterday (drove in). I have been carpooling so I convinced my car pooling buddy he should ride too. I had mapped out what I thought would be the most direct/Least dangerous route using maps and satellite images. A few of the spots took us back through some rough service roads (dirt), over some railroad tracks, and then out through a very industrial area. We got through that, and then discovered this little paved bike path we didn’t know about. We were about to head up the path to see where it went, when POP! There went my buddy’s chain. …and my chain tool hasn’t arrived from nashbar yet (probably will today – go figure). So we were able to borrow some tools from someone in the area, fixed the chain as best we could (reused the pin) and made it about another ½ mile and then POP, there it went again. So I grabbed one end of the chain and he held on while I pulled him the ½ mile or so to a gas station, where he was able to call his wife for a ride. I did the last 5 miles or so on my own and had a fairly uneventful ride.
This morning’s ride in was much better. I found some better routes… down back streets, through a huge cemetery, back through a large corporate office park, a little off road action to cut through to some more suburbian streets, and finally the last mile or so finishes out on one of the larger roads. Made it to work in about an hour this morning (yesterday took about 2.5 hours with all the mishaps). I’m hoping to be able to get it down to 45 minutes eventually… legs are definitely feeling it.. will need to build up to that. I’m glad I did it and plan on 100% biking for getting to work and back. It’s about 9.5 each way. Thanks to all those on the forum who have offered such great advice to get me started.