Now that the weather is acutally feeling spring like here in Chicago, it's time to bike commute to work. This past week with my CTA line being cut due to a massive reconstruction program, it was time to bust out the old bike and get myself to work. I was reminded how quick and easy it is to ride to work, quicker door to door times than me taking the CTA.
As I rode this past week I was asked about a dozen times how, in fact, I could get to work during rush hour traffic without dying. I told them that many Chicagoans bike every day, and in fact, do not die either. I've only bee involved in once accident in 8 years, involving a cab door and my bike. I lost that one, clearly.
So, here are a few things that you can do to make your bike commute safe and quick.
1) Ride in a straight line. Riding in a straight line shows other cyclists and drivers that you know how to control you're bike and you ride confidently, even when avoiding potholes. You should ride slightly slower than what you think should do. Wobbling over the bike lanes scares us all to death, and you look like you don't know what you're doing.
2) Learn your route. Find a commute route that you like and learn it like the back of you're hand. Learn the timing of the lights, how the traffic flows, and when. The better you learn it, the quicker you'll get to work. Make it routine. And please follow the lights and signals, you really are not saving any time by skipping them and it shows you respect the rules of the road.
3) You are NOT a car. You can't rush it to work. You can't ride the same speed as cars, and you shouldn't, and since bike lanes pass by car traffic anyway. Then does it prove riding a casual pace, you can get to work just as fast as they can? Make sure you have the time to get where you need to be. Besides, drivers are idiots and you want to rise above that. Show them that you're better.
4) No distractions. Under no circumstances should you have headphones on when riding. It is actually illegal in the city of Chicago to wear them. You can be ticketed for it. You need all of your senses working at peak efficiency, to be aware of all the things the city throws at you, and nothing should be left to chance. Turn off your phone and and only check it when you're at your destination.
5) Do your bike maintenance: It takes more than sending you bike to the shop once every year. Check your tires for glass or cuts, lube your chain, and check your brakes weekly. A few minutes of maintenance, saves you tons of money and stops you having to do a major repair on rainy day on the side of the road. Learn to do basic bike repair yourself, it's really not as hard as you think.
6) Wear a helmet. A gaping head wound does not go with what you're wearing. Helmets are not about you not being safe, it's about the rest of the world not being safe. And spending your early thirties learning to spell you name again, is never a good thing.
7) Buy really, really, good tires. Drop the cash on the best puncture resistant tires you can get your hands on. That, or enjoy changing tires, which even if you do well, is still the worst thing in the world.
8) Avoid cabs like the plague. At all times. 100% dangerous. Give them plenty of room. Like hyenas.
9) Forget the weaving bike messenger idiots. Have you seen that movie "Premium Rush" with Joesph Gordon Leavitt? Yeah, that's not you. They are giving us a bad name. They're adrenaline junkies, and they don't have any dependents. Or brains. Stay away.
OK, that's my wisdom. Be safe.
