Starting the countdown

Call me crazy.

I've considered doing the bicycle commute thing for about a year - roughly the same time I started taking the bus to work. It's now time to take the plunge. Or at least to dip my big toe into the bike-to-work pond.

Began converting my old road bike (2004 Giant OCR 1) into a commuter this past weekend. New tires, a tail light, new water bottle cage to replace the broken one, new computer to replace the broken one, and re-wrapped the bars so my death grip in traffic will have a little more cushion. Also installed new clipless pedals to replace the Ultegra set and picked up cycling shoes more suited to the commuter thing than my stiff road bike shoes.

Have plotted several routes - none of which can really get me out of heavy traffic patterns flowing into Uptown Charlotte, NC. I'm not aware of any bicycle paths between home and work. It's a 17-18 mile one way commute no matter how I plot it. Not bad, roughly equivelant to a jaunty little weekend ride. I also have the option to throw my rig on the front rack of the 77X if the weather goes to hell prior to my evening commute.

Next steps - 1) Get a good light. If I'm leaving the house at 6:00am, it's gonna be dark and the laws say that I need to have a light. Looking at options, but a good Light and Motion rig seems like the best option. Pricey. 2) Lay in supplies at the office. I'm opting to travel as light as possible. I'll keep a dark suit, a few white shirts, and shower/shave kit at the office. That way I'll only need to pack shoes, underwear, socks, and tie for the commute. I plan on biking to the office, grabbing the wardrobe, and trekking 4 blocks to the gym to shower, shave and dress. 3) Dry run the routes next weekend. I come from a cautious people. I always dry run the routes on the triathlons I do - knowing where the bad roads are, the hills, where to expend energy, where to conserve. I'd like to have a good picture of what I'm up against on the commute.

That's it for today - the countdown is on. I plan on doing my first bike-to-work the week of August 18.