I have 2 children to deliver to a high school that is 10 miles from my home and 10 miles from where i work.  They need to be a school at 8.  I need to be at work at 8:30.

Volition has multiple showers, and I just directed the entire company to this article. HI GUYS. NO EXCUSES.

the high schoolers can’t ride their bikes to school?  Or are they not to be trusted to arrive?
No, not everybody can do it… but an awful lot of people stick “problems” out there as excuses to fail, not problems to be solved.

To help with the perspiration I carry my office shirt (rolled) in my saddle bag. I wear a bright t-shirt while I ride. Once at the office I cool down then take off the t-shirt and put on my office shirt.  This allows me to have a nice clean, dry office shirt and a bright, high visibility shirt on the bike.

For those ready to try riding even in the rain (I like riding in the rain!). Try a rain cape (Google image search). I have a cheap one from Campmor. It works great for lighter rains. For the heavy rains you need pants and booties too.  Fenders aren’t enough in pouring rain.

Every dollar I spend to use my bike is five dollars (even more) that I save on using my car or motorcycle. I don’t go crazy but I never worry about getting gear that will keep me riding.

I always wear wrap style glasses. Dark glasses in the day and clear (safety style) at night.  They keep wind and dust out of my eyes.  As a motorcyclist I learned never to ride without eye protection. I recommend them on the bike too.  Dust in the eyes can be a real hazard in traffic.
 

I will not drive my children to high school or even middle school and I certainly will not buy them a car.  In both Champaign and Urbana students who live 10 miles from school are entitled to a bus pass.  My kids either take the bus or ride their bikes.  It is good for kids to learn how to use the bus system and it gives them independence to stay for after-school activities or get to other places they need to go without being driven.  It is better for their health, the environment, and the budget.
Now my daughter is in college.  Her grandmother offered to buy her a car.  My daughter turned the offer down and asked for a new bike.

I live 25 miles from work. I am 7-8 miles from any major roadway that gets me to work and lots of my travel is rural with much farm implement traffic. Additionally, I frequently drive upwards of 60 additional miles for appointments. Not everyone lives IN CU.

listen up! you all bitch and moan about how hard everything is, just go out and do it, truely a fantastic means of transport is your friend the bike!!! So i ride my bike everyday of the year everywhere I go all the time no excuses, rain, snow, wind, slush, and of course traffic!!! You must be aware of your environment around you and if you are not, a bike is no place for you nor is a car. You must respect every the fact that people do not pay attention!, so be very careful and get out there and ride your bike!!!

‘H’ and ‘Kathy’ - Biking to Work ain’t for everyone.  That said, it will work for a lot of folks within CU metro area. 

I actually downgraded my commuter bike when I got to CU since everything seems to be within 3 miles of my place (< 1 mile to downtown Urbana, 3 miles to downtown Champaign).  Most of my commutes are on a 3-spd Huffy with baskets that I picked up for $10 at a yard sale a couple of years ago.

Back when I lived in CT, none of my commutes were < 3 miles and most were 5-10 miles.  I needed a much speedier cyclocross bike that could handle big hills and crummy roads.  That one now spends most of its time hung up in the garage.  Compared to almost anywhere I’ve been, there’s nowhere easier to bike commute than CU.

Yeah Bikes!!!

Learn to fix your own at www.thebikeproject.org.

The “bikes are too expensive” idea is an obvious myth if the person who says it owns a car.  My car died two years ago and I replaced it with a bike, the cost of which (even loaded with some extras) has more than been made up by the elimination of insurance payments, not to mention gas, upkeep, and the extra spending that I always did because I would drive to more places where I’d spend money.  (it was also much easier, practically and psychologically, to stop for fast food while driving.)  Even buying a new mid-range quality commuter bike (my Trek + rack, baskets, and fenders cost ~$700) will be quickly offset by the diminishing costs of gas, even if you keep the car.  Plus you don’t have to carve time out of your schedule for exercise, b/c you get it on your commute.
I do sympathize with doughkeeper: b/c I don’t drive, I don’t listen to the radio as much either (though my station of choice was usually NPR).

I commute by bike 3+ miles each way every day to campus and have for 3 years now.  I do it every day all year long in (almost) all weather conditions—the exception being when there’s ice on the road or if there’s a lightning storm.  The key to cycling in the rain is good rain gear and the key to the winter is dressing like a marshmallow.  I know a thing or two about bikes (I own four), but the one I commute on is a real junker because (1) you don’t need a nice bike to commute and (2) I can’t take my bike in my building and I don’t want a nice bike stolen or left out in bad weather.  When I need to do repair work on it, I take it to the Bike Project and tune things up on the cheap.  I’ve also got baskets on the bike, so I can pick up groceries on the way home or carry things around.  My commute is faster than the bus and not much slower than driving (and much less frustrating).
People don’t have to completely give up their cars to become bike commuters.  I have one that I drive occasionally, but it’s nice to not rely on it.  I think the commitment to commute every day by bike can be intimidating.  Commit to biking every Monday or something like that and most people will find they enjoy it so much that they’ll end up doing it more often or switching over entirely.  And even if it just stays Mondays, I’m still behind you 100% for two reasons.  (1) If everybody drove one less day a week, it would be great for the environment.  (2) You won’t be that idiot driver who doesn’t understand cyclists.

I’m late to the conversation but loved the piece and wanted to add a bit. As someone who has biked to work for three years here, I have a few comments on the myths, suggestions, etc.:
<span style=“font-size: small;“>1. NYTimes had a piece that gave a new government estimate for owning a car at $3500/year (fuel, insurance, depreciation, etc.). My wife and I went from two to one when I started really biking, so we apparently have saved $14,000 or so (more than most of the commenters have noted). I work at UIUC, so I’ve also not spent $400/year on a parking pass (and I spend less than $400/year on biking for clothes, equipment, repairs, upgrades, etc.). I’ve saved A TON of money (well, in pennies) each year from biking. </span>
<span style=“font-size: small;“>2. I swear by having rain gear both at home and at work. Once in a while I’ll forget to check the weather (especially when it looks glorious out in the morning but afternoon showers come). Riding in the rain is easy as long as you have the gear. A simple rain coat and pants at home and at work actually isn’t too expensive and you’ll always be ready.</span>
<span style=“font-size: small;“>3. I do bike in the winter, but I will say to you that there are 4-9 days a year when I won’t bike at all and a backup plan is in order. For me, these are either high winds + rain, or icy roads. Some days it just doesn’t make sense. Once I just called a cab ($9 every few years isn’t much), and other times I got a ride. </span>
<span style=“font-size: x-small;“><span style=“font-size: small;“><span>4. A nice pannier is well worth the investment. I rode around with a backpack forever with a garbage bag inside in case of rain, and when I upgraded to a nice Ortlieb office pannier I never looked back.</span></span></span>
<span style=“font-size: x-small;“><span style=“font-size: small;“><span>5. Following on the last comment, I genuinely believe that money spent on my bikes is a great investment and I never say no. I’ve added new tires, gone to a different rack system (from the wire baskets that were heavy and bruised fruit), etc. There’s something about bikes that make people feel that nothing should cost more than $20, but those same people will spend $800 on a car repair without a second thought. Budget for some nice gear, repairs, upgrades, or even a new bike with a fraction of the money you’ll save. </span></span></span>