robi

NO it is not complicated.

rob

weepingwillow

Thanks so much for the advice and support everyone - I feel much better already! I forgot to mention that I do tube patches and tire irons so I am better off than I initially stated. I also have a place to store my bike / clothes / food at work so no worries there. I will definitely invest in lighting - I do believe that's a law here anyway. I like the idea of keeping it simple and enjoying the ride for the sake of riding. I plan to start off commuting once a week and see where I go from there. I look forward to getting into all of the bike geek talk once I learn more!

alan s 

At an absolute miniumum, I always carry a seat bag containing spare tube, patch kit, tire levers, a CO2 cartridge/chuck and a copy of my ID and emergency contact (in case I crash). Walking even a couple of miles takes a really long time. You may or may not get help from others (by cell phone or a passing rider), so having a way to fix an inevitable flat is essential.

HardyWeinberg

It's not complicated, get on the bike and ride. If you can map out a route that is never too far from a bus route (if your buses have bike racks) in case something comes up you can't fix roadside, that can be a bit of a peace-of-mind backup.

Torrilin

My first couple thousand miles happened without me even owning a bike pump. I'd swing by a gas station or the local bike shop with a free air compressor about twice a week. No, that's not an order of magnitude error, I don't think I bought the pump until I had a few hundred miles on my second bike. Please note, that was our floor pump. My frame pump didn't come along until earlier this year, when I had my first flat.

I didn't buy my first inner tube until just last weekend. After about 30 minutes of dithering as I packed for My First Bike Tour, I decided that a spare tube was cheap insurance considering that all the friends I was meeting were in cars that were Stuffed Full Of Spinning Wheels. Figure it took close to 4000 miles for me to buy one.

We've had set of folding Allen keys (NOT a multi-tool) since we bought the bikes. One set for two riders. This year, I added a second set of Allen keys and my own personal wrench. Those live on my bike. There's also a spare set of Allen keys in the toolbox now too.

In short... you can ride successfully for many thousands of miles with a lot less gear than you already have. The big key for me has been having a plan for emergencies. 90% of the time, my first plan is "well, I have my bus pass right here". Almost all of the remainder is "well, I have legs. I can walk." If you don't have a bus system or other mass transit handy, it is better to be more cautious.

myrridin

+1 I would also suggest taking one of the free classes at the local LBS to learn how to use the above.

dahut

For what its worth, I rode thousands of miles on a bike, getting around back in the days before we knew it was called "commuting."
It might be considered a Last Great Adventure for the modern metro-citizen. Not many people are willing to do it, and fewer still do it well.
I find, in fact, that noncyclists seem to be more open and friendlier towards me - mostly because I'm on a bike.

Common sense will probably take you as far as you need in the beginning. From what Im getting, you have plenty of that, already.
Once that is well worked, get to know Paul Dorn as your commuting guru.

no motor?

It's not as hard as we make it sound, we're usually complaining/bragging/mentioning something to either blow off some steam learn form someone else's mistakes/experience so we don't have to learn it the hard way. Much like out parents walked 6 miles uphill both ways to school barefoot in the snow. You'll figure out what works for you soon enough, welcome to the wonderful world of commuting.

Standalone 

Folks managed to bike to work before the advent of the cellular phone.

I don't have one, and often do a 17 mile one way commute on a $40 bike.

exile

First off welcome. I will echo what basically everyone else is saying that it ain't that difficult or complicated.

First off get good puncture resistant tires and get rid of the knobbies. From memory Panaracer RiBMo's and T-Servs, Schwalbe Marathons , Continental Contact, and Specialized Armadillo's are usually recommended pretty highly.

Next would be a Rack so you can take the weight off yourself and put it on the bike when you want to carry stuff. Topeak, Axiom, and Blackburn are all talked about a lot. You can also get panniers or simply bungee a backpack to the rack.

Next would be some kind of active and passive lighting. The mainstay has be the Planet Bike Superflash for the rear. An ANSI rated reflective vest would also come in handy. For the front lighting it really depends. If you want to "be seen" almost any light that has a strobe or flash effect would be good. If you want "to see" some of us attach flashlights like the P7's sold by dealextreme or get something like the Magicshine that has a following as well.

It sounds like you have everything else covered so good luck and let us know how your first commute or trial run goes.

yarb

Not necessary; plenty of people ride to work quite happily on knobby tires, and puncture-resistance is something you might consider only if you get an inordinate amount of flats.

Also completely unnecessary if you only have a light load.

bhop

You already have much more than I did the first day I rode to work.

At the time, I had a Huffy mountain bike from Sears that weighed more than both my current bikes together.. and uhh.. yeah.. that's it as far as bike stuff. I wore my skateboard helmet and took a change of clothes in my backpack. In hindsight, it would've really sucked if i'd gotten a flat, and because of my newbiness, I remember making some stupid moves in traffic (learning experience).. but somehow I made it there and back. (13 miles one way)

That day changed my life forever. @_@

ItsJustMe

Just start doing it, you'll pick stuff up until it's automatic. None of us knew any of this stuff when we started either. However, depending on your area, you may wish to either take a road safety course or at least get a mentor to ride along with you once or twice. Taking your route on a weekend when the traffic is light is another common suggestion.

As for lighting, I'd suggest not going too cheap or too expensive to start with. I may be biased but for about $110 you can get a MagicShine headlight and taillight. It's what I run. Most of us try to cheap out and get by with $30 to $50 headlights, and we wind up wasting money on junky lights before giving up and buying a real light.

This is a great time to be shopping for lighting. 5 years ago when I started, that much light was only available as an HID and cost close to $1000. A MagicShine will probably be all the light you ever need, but at the very least it will take you through to a time when you have a very good idea of what you want for your next light.

I take the same tack on other equipment. I try to buy decent, not cheap but not expensive stuff at first when I don't really know what I'm looking for. Sometimes that stuff lasts me a long time, but if I wear it out, when I replace it I am usually happy with the life I got out of it and I then know a lot more about what I want for my next one.

chipcom 

don't make me post pics, pilgrim.

chipcom 

I was started riding to work back in the late 70s...to school earlier than that. Funny thing, I don't think I owned a frame pump or carried any kind of tools or spares until I had been in the Marine Corps a year or so...and didn't adopt cycling shorts, clipless pedals and all the fancy cycling specific stuff until this century. My first headlight and taillight were both flashlights...I used red magic marker on the lens of the flashlight I used for the taillight until my dad, the cop, rapped me up side the head and bought me a red lens.

iManda

All I have is a sixteen year old bike, helmet, U-lock, panniers and some lights. I don't carry a purse anymore because everything goes in the panniers. No special clothes but I do dress more casually now for comfort.

thenomad

Just go do it.

You'll think of things, or encounter things that you'll want to change or modify, or heck, just deal with once you get out on the open road.

Go ask a pro what they "need to have" and they'll give a list of high dollar things I've always lived without.

Having an emergency (I got a flat tire) plan is as basic as it should get. Ride in what you want to, bring what you want to and then see if you needed it all or if you needed more.

Have fun, you'll feel invigorated when you get to work and relaxed when you come home.

bubbagrannygear

No it's not complicated and you don't need fancy stuff. The one thing you do need to pay attention to is visability if you are going to ride after dark. You stated that the roads are busy. Buy the best rear light you can afford and wear a reflectorized vest.

dahut

Ive dumped the clipped pedals, in fact, and now prefer platforms for commuting. I do plan to go BACK the the older, toe cages soon, though. That way I can wear whatever shoes I want and still get a bit of advantage. Can you imagine? Can you remember when those were the hot ticket?

I dont wear cycling specific clothes either, for the most part. Oh, I have a few jerseys, but I always feel kind of goofy wearing them. Instead, I prefer to just wear what works for me. There are all sorts of outdoor/athletic clothes that work well for cycling, which can be had for pennies compared to the "real" cycling stuff. The only thing I specifically look for is clothes that are a combination of red/black/grey/white - these are my cycling "colors" of choice.

When I realized I wasn't spinning tires in the Tour de France, but commuting, it opened up all sorts of opportunities.

"Up side' the head".... I love it!

ricedaddy

I also just started commuting from work and it's really not very complicated. I though the same thing as you when I started. I was going to "build up" so I rode about 8 miles a day before my first day of commuting. I was kind of forced into starting early because my car was in the shop, but the first was pretty great. I have a 14.5 mile commute one way.

I'm starting to learn all kinds of things like shifting properly and proper form just from ride all the time. Lights and a helmet are really the only imperative gear, I would say. I picked a magicshine from geomangear and it's awesome. People mistake me for a motorcycle sometimes.

mcflyfisher

The cell phone is a great idea. When I started commuting, I had my wife drive to about the halfway point of my commute and I rode back home. I had my phone and made sure she was near her phone as I was not completely sure I was going to be able to ride the whole thing. She did have to bail me out once when I had a valve stem tear off of a tube. I was glad of the phone that day.
I worked up to the distance, but still don't ride it every day of the week. I enjoy the days I do ride, and think you will too. If you ride in the daylight the lights aren't required, but like most everyone else I think you will want to get them sooner rather than later. I have just cheap lights, but the are enough to let me be seen. The idea of spending over $100 on lighting is daunting even now. My ride is 24 miles one way, and I can't do it without the padded shorts. I have tried and it is just painful. I don't own a cycling jersey and don't know if I ever will. I am still adding gear as I think I need it. I sewed up my own book bag/pannier because I needed something to carry all my crap in. I couldn't bring myself to pay the money that is asked for the commercial stuff, so I got by. Like others have said, you can tune you system to your needs as you learn what they are. It sounds like you have every thing you need for a day time commute, and will add what you need for a night time commute.

nashvillwill

Here are the essentials....

1. Bike
2. Helmet
3. Water

The rest, you will figure out. It's really that simple.

Sixty Fiver

I would appreciate the restraint.

ilynne

What, the bicycle commuting cops are gonna arrest you if you don't have the requisite gear? OK, the cops MIGHT hassle you if your bike is not up to code or you don't obey traffic laws. So make sure you know the law. Then get on your bike and ride. You'll figure out what you need and want to make the commute even better. For me, it really did change getting to work from the worst to the best part of the day. I am so damn happy every day that I'm not in a car.

eyenigh

I've just started commuting in the last few months and it's really easy and enjoyable. I absolutely agree with the above poster that my attitude about going to work in the morning has completely changed. I actually look forward to getting up and going instead of dreading it. One tip that I'd give that I've found to work well for me is to just bring a few changes of clothes early in the week (I only commute 3 days/week, 10 miles each way) and leave them in your desk/office so you don't have to carry anything except what you can get in an underseat pack or your pockets. I also keep a case with soap, makeup, hair tools and everything else I need to get ready at work. I commute from the suburbs into downtown Detroit and I have to go through some very questionable areas so I don't like to keep anything on my person in case I get jacked or something. It would really suck to get knocked off my bike so some crackhead can rob me for face wash and a hair brush. (For that reason, I also carry pepper spray, which I'm sure I'll wind up squirting into the wind and into my own face if I'm ever called upon to use it but my husband insists that I take it with me.)