noglider 

... to coin a word.

I have a steady job now for the first time in a long time. I've change careers from IT to K-12 education. It's super exciting.

Teaching is different in many ways, and one of them is that we must be at work on time very reliably. I've never been reliably on time so this has been one adjustment. I haven't been late for work yet! Another adjustment is that the day starts so early. Lately I get up at 6am, and I'm thinking of shifting it to 5:30 so things aren't so tight.

I've been at this job for three weeks now. I've taken the subway every time so far. (I'm in New York City.) I plan to bike commute for maybe two or three days a week. Very coincidentally, my new workplace is a half mile away from my workplace of 2014-2017. It's 13 miles each way, so it's a bit of a haul for me. It's too much to do five days a week. So now I have to make a routine of bike maintenance and preparation, and I have to make it so I'm not late for work. I'm a bit apprehensive. Maybe I'll do the first bike commute by getting up at 5 and seeing how that goes.

Darth Lefty 

Welcome back Tom!

Yeah, limited time has definitely made me concentrate being a bike rider and set aside pretensions of collector or mechanic

jaxy357

How cool! What are you teaching these days? I work in higher ed and commuted about 30 miles by train/subway for years to North Philly from Northern Delaware. Now my commute is 18 miles so I feel your pain. Have you considered a hybrid approach of bike and subway, etc? I just got a folding bike for $50 (not high hopes but giving it a whirl). I like being a flexible commuter (I think there's a cute term for it) where I don't put too much pressure on myself to do a clean commute every day but just do it as much as I can based on my schedule and weather.

Robert C

Another teacher here, however, I only have about 2.5 miles to go each way.

irwin7638

Since retiring I've been working as a substitute teacher in the local high schools. I have a 6 mile commute to work and make it a habit to be up at 5:30 am to be at work at 7:30. That gives me time to get ready without rushing around and stressing about it. Hope that helps Tom.

Marc

Korina

@noglider, have you thought about doing subway to work and ride home? At least for awhile until you get your commuting legs back. Congrats on the new job!

mcours2006

Good to hear from you, Tom. Congrats on the career change. Teaching can be tremendously rewarding and gratifying. I wish you all the best.

I've always left early for work, even when I drove. But I feel it's even more imperative that I do so when cycling, because who knows what sort of problems I may encounter, mechanical or otherwise. A flat, especially when it's -10, is not an easy thing to deal with, and if I can't repair it, then I need to have time to go to plan B, whatever that might be. As most days I don't encounter any problems I get into work a good 90 minutes before I start, but that's a good time for me to prep whatever I need for the day.

gaucho777 

@noglider, Tom, congrats on the permanent teaching position! I'd bet you are a great teacher. Do I remember correctly that you are in the SpEd dept., or do you have your own grade-specific class?

I, too, had a bit of an adjustment moving from my previous career with a lax start time to the fixed, and early, start time of a morning school bell. I find it very helpful to pack up my panniers (everything but my coffee and lunch) and lay out my commuting clothes the night before. I sweat a lot, so I also have to build in some extra time to cool down and change clothes once I arrive. I also make a point to do as much copying and prep work for the next day before I leave so I'm not scrambling to get the lessons prepped or competing with others for last-second use of the copier in the morning.

I'm lucky I can park my bike by my desk in the classroom. Is there no room in the class for a bike? Have you already been told not to bring in your bike? As they say, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission.

Robert C

I also keep my bike in my classroom. Considering the nature of the school I am at, parking my hike in the rack would just be setting students up. There is no way they would be able to resist vandalizing a teacher's bicycle. Then we would check the video and they would be in quite a bit of trouble. It is better to just keep it in my classroom.

Good systems make it easy to do the right thing and hard to do the wrong thing.

downtube42

Is Uber an option for emergency backup? Like a double flat or other mechanical misfortune. Even if it just gives peace of mind and you never need it, it could be nice.

noglider 

Sure. I’m probably ready for a double flat, but yeah, there is always the unforeseen. But here in NYC, we have a decent subway system. If before I get to work, I can’t continue on bike, I’ll probably hoof it to the subway with the bike.

noglider 

Wow, you remember a lot. Thank you. The story of where I am is on my blog. I’m not progressing as fast as I had hoped. Right now, I’m a substitute, serving as an assistant teacher. I do like the work very much.

Yes I have a new routine. At night: Put my clothes in the spare bedroom. Grind coffee and put water in coffee maker.

In the morning, leave the bed as quietly as possible. Press the power button on the coffee maker. Shower. Get dressed in the spare bedroom.

Most of the time, I’m with one single student in the 1st grade. (I never pictured myself teaching such young students.) The student is defiant and violent so I work with her one-on-one. She’s been suspended many times. When she’s out, I am often assigned to another class. I’ve helped out in K, 2, and 3. I like them all.

I have had aspirations of SpEd over the last year. This came after picturing myself teaching math or science. But now a friend of a friend tells me she’s been happily making plenty of money as an interventionist. And intervention is what I’m doing, without even any training. So I’ll be looking into this. I do especially well when I work one-on-one with a student for behavior work or tutoring academics. Small groups are OK. I’ve run a few class sessions and clearly don’t have that knack, at least not yet. I know there is plenty to learn. The kids immediately sense that I’m a softie and get away with misbehavior. I don’t get outwardly angry. I’m learning. I just led recess in the classroom, and it got a bit rowdy. I did need to talk to a few kids, but honestly, I was not angry at all. They need to be told how to behave, and most of the misbehavior is from not knowing right from wrong or forgetting.