You guys are lucky. My MTB skills are not good enough to cycle the spiral staircase from my home to the office :)
OG On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:23 AM, Nicolai van der Merwe < [email protected]> wrote: > Great Minds think alike and fools never differ… > > I did the first cycle commute yesterday since I came back to the good RS > of A. 21.5 km to office and 23 km back home (I took a road with a better > shoulder back home). D&D light came in handy as I only left office close to > 6 PM. I left the laptop, pair of shoes and towel at the office to shed some > weight. (my backpack does not have a waist strap - some shopping to do). > > Meeting today in Midrand, so could not be a repeat offender today. Will > repeat on Thursday. Tomorrow is Action Cricket night, so I prefer not to > cycle from way out in Lynnwood road to Centurion at midnight. > > Happy commuting! > > > *Nicolai van der Merwe | Principle Consultant: EP-USE Global services| EPI-USE > | Mobile: +27 82 372 3906 | Tel: +27 12 470 2200 | Fax: +27 86 669 1890 | > email: [email protected] | www.epiuse.com | > Disclaimer<http://disclaimer.epiuse.co.za/> > * > > On 24 Apr 2012, at 10:01, Donald Klopper (GMail) wrote: > > Good day all you intrepid cyclists! > > *Today I did something for the first time that I haven’t done in TOO LONG:I > cycled to work. > * *[Edit: this was last week. Today I did it again...]* > > > *Why? *Simple: *I’ve run out of excuses not to! *I really hope some of > you find this useful. Just try it once if you haven’t before. > > > My common excuses relate to #1 weather uncertainty, #2 sunlight issues, #3 > extra time needed for the bicycle commute, #4 extra weight to carry during > the commute, #5 safety on the road, #6 bicycle security, and #7 shower > facilities at the office. LOTS of excuses... > > > *[Edit: the article is from the point of view of somebody that works at > Momentum head office in Centurion, but most of the tips should still be > valid for anybody]* > > > *Now let me break it down to try and prove that my excuses are invalid:* > > > Right now we’re in a season where it’s not too hot and not too cold to > cycle early in the morning. It’s really quite pleasant. It’s unlikely to > start raining suddenly, and there’s still enough sunlight out there to > start riding around sun-up and be at my desk at around 08h00 all after my > hour and a half commute and a shower (and some In-the-Kitchen oats...!). > I’ll be able to leave for home after 16h00 and be home before dark. Also > this means that I don’t have to do any other training on cycle-commute day, > since I’m getting in more than 2 hours of training! I’ll get to some of the > unexpected benefits later on. > > > So excuses *#1*,* #2* and *#3* are negated I believe. > > > I used a fairly comfortable, mid-size adventure racing backpack. In it I > have the minimum that I thought necessary, but enough to be comfortable at > the office during the day. I tend to go overboard with my kit according to > some; you be the judge. > > > - Bike kit: In a plastic bag: a single spare tube, pump, tyre > levers, chain tool, multi-tool, headlamp (for in case I leave for home very > late), patch kit, lube, small odds and ends (gator, presta-to-shrader > converter, piece of wire, a couple of cable ties, etc) > > - Shower stuff: small towel, shower gel, deodorant > > - Work clothes: long pants and belt, decent shirt, underwear, > socks, normal work shoes (not boots) > > - Bicycle lock, wallet > > - On my person: helmet, cycling shoes, cycling shorts and shirt, > thin long sleeved cycling top, ID and medical aid tag around my neck that > speaks when I can’t, cell phone, keys, Momentum key-card for easy access to > open doors and turnstiles without scratching around in the backpack > > - No water. For a commute you don’t really need water or energy > drink on the way. I considered drinking water at one of the filling > stations, but ended up not needing it. Not having to carry water is quite a > weight and space saver. You inadvertently don’t use up all your water on > the ride anyway, so it would just be wasted weight and space. > > > The backpack ties around my (ample) waist and (not so ample) chest, and > didn’t move around much when I was cycling, so the extra weight wasn’t > really obvious, since it didn’t hang off my shoulders. Total weight around > 3kg or 4kg? In my experience weight carried on the body doesn’t feel as bad > as weight carried on a bicycle, so I don’t use panniers or a carrier. I > never use water bottles on my mountain bike since they just get lost or > dirty, and they influence the responsiveness of the bike. There goes excuse > *#4*. > > > After all the work done on our roads in lieu of the FIFA World Cup 2010, > our roads are in a pretty good condition. Most roads have shoulders and > walkways or footpaths are quite often available. Many new robots (traffic > lights, you know...) have been installed all over the place, often with 3 > and 4 phases so that you don’t have to hang around too much to cross an > intersection. I lane-split between the cars when I approach an intersection > and when I can move faster than the other vehicles (which is surprisingly > often) so that I’m first over the intersection when the lights change. You > have to be assertive when you cycle, make your presence known, and you need > to cover yourself with a curb or another vehicle. I believe with some > streetwise skills it’s quite safe. A gentleman in a Beemer of all cars even > stopped traffic close to Fountains and indicated to me that I could cross > over the road when I was caught in a merging lane. Wow, that is quite rare. > So I believe that some streetwise skills, patience and common sense will > keep you safe on the road, so that excuse *#5* is not a problem. > > > Bicycle security is a non issue in Momentum’s basement. I see more and > more cyclists parking their bikes next to the motorbikes. I believe there > is a closed circuit video camera that overlooks one of the motorcycle > parking areas. I’ve never had issues with my motorbike parked there, but I > felt it was necessary to at least lock the bike. I brought a decent cable > lock along, with which I locked the bike next to a pole, so that it > shouldn’t fall over when bumped by a pedestrian. On previous occasions > (when I forgot the lock) I even left my bike there for the day, unlocked, > and I never had issues. So I really believe my bike is safe there, sorting > out excuse *#6*. > > > The showers of choice are behind Oshika, and they seem to be unlocked > early every morning. You have to negotiate your way around the smokers > hanging around on the steps, but once you’re inside it’s really very > decent. There’s even enough space inside the lockable shower cubicle with > you, so that you don’t have to worry stuff will get nicked while you > shower. Water is as hot as you want it and the shower head delivers a nice > stream of aqua, so you complete this necessity in 10 minutes. Excuse *#7*put > to rest. > > > *See, I had no choice; I’m out of excuses...* > > > *Unexpected benefits for me: * > > > - I’m getting in around 46km of cycling during a normal work > day, without much impact on my work time or my home time > > - I’m saved around R40 on fuel today, and that’s compared to my > daily fuel costs on my motorcycle. If you’re driving by car you can almost > double that, depending on the vehicle you use and the distance that you > travel. > > - I get to succinctly make it obvious to my friends and > colleagues that there’s a different kind of helmet on my table today... and > augment the number of people that know me and think I’m crazy > > - I feel invigorated at work after the morning’s exercise > > - I got to meet three new people on my commute this morning. An > out-of-work dude from Cape Town carrying a huge backpack, and chap on a > haunted, broken motorcycle, and another bicycle commuter from Momentum! > > > My job in MSC Cycling is to try and get you on your bicycles, and if this > report succeeded in doing that for ONE person then I’ll be happy. Even if > it just motivates me to do it again myself, I’ll be happy. Please let me > know if you’ve done it or if you plan to, and how your experience differs > from mine. > > > PS: *Here is a link to an article on Bicycle Commuting at Arrive Alive*: > http://www.arrivealive.co.za/pages.aspx?i=238 > > > Kind regards > > > Donald Klopper > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en.
