I rode into work this morning for the first time in my life. It was a great experience and made for some fun talk at the office. I saved a couple gallons of gas, which as of this writing means about $7, and it feels good knowing that I'm doing my part to lower carbon dioxide emissions (learn more about the 10 mile pledge).

I’m a planner, and my motto is “Plan for the worst – Hope for the best”. It’s served me well, and here are the steps I took to make sure my maiden voyage was successful:

1. Road conditions and route – look for wide shoulders with bike lanes and no debris. Look for the fewest traffic lights as possible, and avoid having to cut across busy roads to make a left turn. I planned ahead by driving a few different routes to work in my car in search of the best route. It really paid off. A couple routes were as long as 15 miles, whereas the route I ended up choosing was a more direct 10 miles.

   I also recently put on a pair of GatorSkins from Performance, which gives me Kevlar protection from gravel and glass on the road. The last thing I want is to be stuck on the side of the road changing a tire when I need to be getting to work!

2. Adequate time – 10 miles of riding in traffic took about an hour, since I had to stop at traffic lights along with the cars. It seemed like I hit almost every single red light, and it's mostly uphill on the way to work. I'm hoping for a faster trip home since it'll be downhill - and hopefully I'll get some green lights!

   

3. Bike Storage at the Office - Fortunately I work in an office where there's plenty of places to lean my bike up against a wall, but if you work in Cubicle Land then you'll need to scope out a place to store your bike during the day. Many companies have bike racks located outside, but I'm not sure that I'd feel comfortable leaving my $2000 bike outside where accessories could be stolen.

4. Clothes – I crammed a change of clothes in my backpack, including shoes, pants, shirt, underwear, and socks.

   If office dress code is casual, then stuffing jeans and a polo into a backpack will be fine. But if your office dress code is business casual, then consider ironing a few day’s worth of clothes ahead of time and driving in with them on Monday, and then riding on Tuesday – Thursday, and then taking it all home on Friday.

5. Cleaning up – Our building doesn’t have showers, so I stuck my head under the sink faucet to wash my hair, and used the washcloth to wipe down underarms, shoulders, and groin. I brought a small hand towel to dry off with, and deodorant and hair gel to polish it all off.
6. Miscellaneous Items – I made sure to bring my cell phone, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and packed a power bar for breakfast. I forgot to bring food for lunch though, but fortunately the nearest deli is only about 4 blocks away. I also have my usual array of tools in my saddle pack, including a spare tube, tire changing tool, CO2 pump and cartridge, and a tool for adjusting my seat if necessary. I’ll throw in a $5 bill tomorrow, just in case I need to stop somewhere along the way to buy band-aids, or to say thanks to a fellow driver for giving me a ride if my bike falls apart.

Riding in to work felt really great, and I’m sure the extra 20 miles of riding each day will help trim the spare tire around my waste line (and will help me keep up with my riding buddies on the weekends!)