Phil_gretz

It's the culmination of a year's effort by my wife and me to eliminate my daily > 2-hour driving commute by moving closer to my work. While we permanently move later this month, tomorrow will be the first time that I drive down to the new neighborhood and take my bike in to work.

~ 9 miles on roadside paths, bike lanes, and restricted speed roads. Downhill on the way in to work, and uphill returning.

I sold three of my favorite bikes to afford to build this commuter:



Toiletries and shoes are pre-positioned. My permanent chain/lock will be pre-positioned at the bike rack next week.

I intend to become a nearly full-time bike commuter begining on July 29th. I'll report back tomorrow on how it went. So excited...

Wolfhaven

Good luck and enjoy the ride

bmthom.gis

Nice!! Looks like a great ride.

GovernorSilver

Looking forward to the report!

noglider 

That sounds like a really good commute. Nine miles is a nice length. It's long enough to get a good workout and short enough not to be tedious.

Nice bike, purpose built. Are those Voyager Hyper tires? I have them on my similar bike and like them. I got the 37mm width and wish I got a size or two narrower.

Your new home must be a source of excitement as well. I remember moving into a house for the first time. It was not that long ago, in 2003. It was a really nice neighborhood, too.

Phil_gretz

Thanks, Tom. It's exciting all the way around.

The tires are Michelin TRANSWorld Sprint 37-622s. They seem to be the advertised 35mm with puncture protection and reflective sidewall. They have a confident cushy feel. Phil

RubeRad

Good job, your whole life will be so much better!

I moved a couple years ago so instead of drive-commuting 50mi rt, I could bike-commute 11mi rt, and I love it. I realize 5.5 mi is not that long of a ride, I'm ok with it. I'm on the road about the same time as I used to be in the car. If I ever want to ride more, I have that option, but I almost never do.

Is that BD moto? I see you also have a moto fantom 29, I guess also from BD? You like? I might get a Cross Comp Ti from BD (if they happen to have it in my size when I am ready to buy)

MikeRides

Good luck! I'm starting a new job next month, only 15 miles from home, so I'm also looking forward to becoming a full time bike commuter. My route will be the opposite as yours, a constant uphill on the way in, and downhill on the way back. Expecting to wear out my baby gear within the first week or so...

BobbyG

My commute is 9 miles and my new bike looks similar to yours in style, color, brakes, rack and fenders. And my commute is downhill to work, and up on the way home. (450ft). I love, love love riding to work and back! The first 6 years it was 6 miles, for the last 17 it's been 9 with some extra miles added now and then. I am very excited for you! Enjoy and may the gods of cycle commuting shower you with fitness and endorphins!

Phil_gretz

Thanks for all of the encouragement. I rode in this morning amid clear skies, a light breeze and mid-70s temperatures. In a word...bliss.

I really didn't see many cars at all at 6:00 am. All of the logistics were fine. The showers at our new facility are well laid out, with a changing bench, a large fan, and lockers. Corporate policy is no hair color or colored rinses in the showers, though. ??!! Who would've thought?

Yes, @RubeRad, it's a BD Moto Turino Pro Disc. It fit my budget. The overall build, after selling off the gold DP18 wheels, will be ~$1375. They now have one that's full Ultegra and hydraulic discs, too, just one level up. I hadn't ridden an endurance frame before. It's nice. Very comfortable.

Anyway, I can see that this will be so, so much better than the life I had been living. I'm glad we're doing this move. Phil

Phil_gretz

Oh, 33 minutes door-to-door just cruising with modest effort, and another 15 to shower and be at my desk. Piece of cake.

rhm

Congratulations on the move and the new commute! And my condolences about the hair color thing. Well, you knew you wouldn't get away with it for ever, didn't you? But it's all to the good. Now we'll get to see the natural Phil....

mgw4jc

Sounds like a great situation. I found that in the summer months I tend to leave about 10 minutes earlier than necessary so I can add some mileage. I suspect you'll start finding ways to add on too.

I do have to ask though ...

"restricted speed roads" as opposed to "unrestricted speed"?

Phil_gretz

Duplicate post, below. Sorry.

Phil_gretz

Roads on a military installation patrolled by U.S. Marshals and/or Post Police. 15-25 mph limits that are strictly enforced. As a consequence, the drivers are all very, very reasonable, calm and cooperative.That's what I meant.

alan s 

Picked a nice day to start. Where do you start and end? My commute is Bethesda to Alexandria.

WalksOn2Wheels

Sounds nearly identical to my situation. I got a job last August and have been driving about 2.5 hours a day round trip commute. Moving to a house about 7-8 miles from work in August. Looking forward to getting back into bike commuting after riding to school the previous three years. Glad to hear your first ride was a success.

no motor?

That's great! My commute to our office took me about 35 minutes and that was a nice ride for me. The distance was shorter, but the riding time was more important to me. The commute to our not so new location anymore is 20 - 25 minutes and much more serene,it's good in a different way than the old one was.

heywood

Good for you..just having the 'option' to bike commute is such a relief compared to having to have a car to get to work. More people should be doing this, we make choices to live where we live, the idea of having to rely on a complicated machine to get me to my job every day is not something i was willing to tolerate, I need roof over my head before i needed a car, that's why I live where i live.. Feel really sorry for those that can't bike commute or use public transit. They're just lambs waiting to be slaughtered by the car, insurance, gas companies and the government.

GovernorSilver

Sounds like you had a sweet morning commute and sweet workplace facilities. I agree that today was a better day to start than yesterday - the heat and humidity during the evening commute was exhausting for me.

a1penguin

Congrats! I had a 9 mile commute and it was just about perfect. After a while, though, it felt a bit short and I would sometimes take the long way home at 16 miles. I now have a 16 mile (each way) commute and it does get a bit tedious.

That's a great looking bike for a four season commuter in real weather. The BD Moto higher end bikes are generally quite nice and decent deal. I keep lusting after the Ti Le Champ, but can't seem to pull the trigger. I need to sell off some stuff from my garage for funds.

scumbone

I've been looking at the 2016 Motobecane turino pro disc as a touring bike -- it's being billed as such on the bikesdirect site. However, from the seat height compared to the handlebar height, it looks like it's more of a racing posture than a touring posture. Do you find that to be the case? Is it possible to adjust the handlebar height?

RidingMatthew

Congrats on the adjustments to make bike commuting a reality. Your waist, heart, wife, and family will all appreciate the change!

RubeRad

You're right, that doesn't look like a tourer to me, except for having rack bosses.

From what I can see from the specs and from the picture, you should be able to gain a little height by flipping the step so it is angled up instead of down, and swapping it above the top spacer rather than below -- but that's about it. Other options would be to buy a different stem (angled more upwards, or perhaps an adjustable stem), or to buy a fork with an uncut steerer.

scumbone

Ah, yes, that makes sense. From Phil's picture, it looks like he has either flipped the stem, or replaced it entirely. Thanks for the info.