Towards a two-wheeled commute.
I’ve decided to try to become a bike commuter.
Well, really, I’ve already been a bike (or at the very least, non-car) commuter for a few years. For the first two years after moving to Atlanta, I walked to work. After two years I moved within the city to a location a bit further from work – so I bought a bike. I rode the bike until winter, at which point I started walking more often, despite the larger time commitment. I now bike or walk depending on the weather – in rain, I tend to walk since I can hold an umbrella, or in cold weather since I can bundle up more easily.
My girlfriend recently bought a house even further from work, but still within Atlanta. It’s likely I’ll be moving in with her when my lease is up, and when that happens, I’ll finally be too far to walk to work. I could fully commit to biking, or decide to buy a parking permit.
My aversion to parking is primarily financial: the parking pass is almost $700 dollars a year, and my car’s air conditioner is broken (??? $$$ to fix). Of course, bike commuting will have its problems too – I’ll finally have to bike in the rain, the route isn’t as bike-friendly as my current route, and I’ll have to resist the urge to buy a slick road bike.
Still, in the coming months before my move, I’ll be trying to prepare for a longer bike commute – learning what works best when it rains, prepping routes from my future housing location to work. And if you stay tuned, you might just be provided a nice list of mistakes I make along the way!