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First Commuting Report |
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Written by Zach Magoon
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Thursday, 23 March 2006 |
Howdo. My name is Zach Magoon and I have been commuting year-round by bike for the last 7 years in both Boston, MA and Portland, ME. Because each day brings new challenges, whether it be changing weather conditions, crappy drivers, sore muscles or mechanicals, I think my ramblings will be, at the very least, moderately amusing.
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Hopefully, some of these postings will inspire others to bike to work, because it really is easier than most think. With the right clothes and gear, almost anyone can commute by bike all year round.
Since most of my training for the mountain bike and cyclocross seasons is done on my daily commute, I mix up the excitement with different routes, different bikes and different apparel to keep every day new and exciting--so no day is routine.
Let's run down some of today's stats:
Temp: 38
Clothes: Bellwether wind block tights, SockGuy base layer, SS jersey, Craft lightweight jacket, neoprene booties, Pearl Izumi wind block gloves, Salsa cycling cap under Lazer helmet.
Bike: Lemond Poprad
Random tip of the day: Stockpile clothes at work. I bring a couple of shirts and a couple pairs of pants in the beginning of the week so I don't have to carry heavy stuff every day. I also leave my work shoes/sneakers at work cause them thing's are heavy.
I may have been a little over dressed today as the temperature rose quite a bit over the hour I was out. This time of year is tricky to dress--it's best to take a whole lot of layering options because it could snow in the morning and be 50 at night.
I generally start riding at about 7:15 a.m. to get a good hour of riding in the morning--especially now that the temps are on the rise. In the dead of winter, I take the shortest route in (about 5 mi.) because I am not a total idiot. I took the West Falmouth route today and used my Lemond Poprad because my leg were a little fatigued from riding the single speed Monday-Wed. So the gears were a welcomed respite from the beating of the 44x16 ratio on the SS. One cool sighting today was a flock of Cedar Waxwings--one of my favorite birds just off of Forest Ave.
More soon.
Zm |
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