Groxie

Riding a bike is one of the few things that is just as fun now as it was when I was a little kid. Starting out after 10 years without getting on a bike was hard—I wasn’t sure I was even physically capable of biking up the hills here. I just took it slow, stopped when I needed to, and realized that there is no shame in walking the bike up the hill if I have to. If I can’t bike to work now when I’m young and healthy, I’m screwed for the future!

I have a pretty basic Giant hybrid bike. It set me back me a few hundred bucks, but compared to the cost of a car, it wasn’t a bad deal. Of course you don’t have to go out and buy a new bike to get started—there are plenty of used ones out there for sale.

We’ve outfitted my bike with a few little extras and modified some of the basics. As time has gone on, I have developed a better sense of what works for me, what I need, and what I can live without. Here are my ideas so far (they’ll probably change as I advance)…

What you have to have:

Keep in mind that we picked up lots of our gear on sale. Bike shops are constantly reducing the price of items that are from last season, so you can really save some money if you look around. You can almost always find a 10% discount coupon for Nashbar or Performance.

• A red blinky tail light for the back of the bike so motorists can see you. These are nice and cheap, well worth the investment.
• A headlight—even if you don’t think you’ll be riding at night. You never know when you’ll get held up or the clouds will move in. There’s quite a bit of a range on these, so just consider how dark the streets are where you ride, how big a range you need to be comfortable, etc. John and I both have this one, and so far I absolutely love it.
• A tire pump. We have one at home, and John has one that lives on his bike.
• Helmet. I’m the most accident prone person I have ever met, so I’m a big proponent of the helmet. Plus, they’re so sexy!
• A water bottle might not be necessary for everyone, but it is for me. Nothing rejuvenates me from a long hill climb like chugging some of that chilly water.
• A patch kit + tire levers costs a few bucks, and it’ll keep you from getting stranded in case of a flat tire.

So that seems like a long list, but you can buy things a little at a time as you find good prices. Plus, if you start biking to run small errands or to work once or twice a week, you’ll be raking in the savings from not using your car. I try to bike to work everyday, and I usually suceed 4 out of 5 days. It saves me easily $100 a month in gas, parking, and maintenance. Now that we’re a one car household, I save another $100 a month in insurance! Woohoo!

Stuff you probably don’t need

If you’re planning on using your bike to commute, and not to race, tour, or climb mountains, then you don’t want to get suckered into buying this stuff.

• Huge knobby tires. These will slow you down and are only useful if you’re not on paved surfaces. Slick tires have better traction, especially in the rain, and will get you there faster.
• Shocks. My bike came with shocks, and I wish I didn’t have to carry that weight around. My new bike (once I have saved up some serious moolah) won’t have them. I just don’t need them riding on paved roads.
• Special bike clothes. I do have a pair of padded shorts that I really love; they were especially helpful when I first started riding and my booty was tender. But in terms of jerseys, socks, shells, shirts, and all that stuff, you don’t need to invest in the fancy bike clothes. I usually wear a sports bra with a cotton tank, but I don’t sweat much. John owns a bunch of sweat wicking shirts that he found for less than $10, and he swears by them. A lot of normal sporty stuff will work just fine for daily use.

This post has gotten much longer than I intended, so I’ll cut myself off here and post about bikes again next week. Then I’ll deal with cleaning and maintenance, maybe even get into some more detail about components and whatnot. In the meantime, happy cycling!