Name: Naoya Wada
Location: Atlanta, GA
Started bike commuting: Summer 2009
Commute distance (one way): 5+ miles

Describe your commute: The commute is very urban. I live in the city of Atlanta, where the car population far exceeds the bicycle one. The drivers are quite self-absorbed for the most part, so commuting was fairly intimidating to begin with, but as I got more accustomed to the streets and the flow of traffic, I began to enjoy it more.

The 5 or so miles of my commute deal mainly with selfish drivers and poorly paved streets. Despite the pitfalls of riding a bike here, there are a number of positives. For one, I feel that riding a bike here allows you to see the city in a different light. I love “getting lost” on a bicycle. It lets you wander down streets that I normally wouldn’t bother with in a car. I feel like it gives you a chance to get to know the city better and you begin to see many details you would otherwise miss.

Describe your bike and accessories: I have 3 bikes, and I rotate them out based on my mood.

UNO Pista NJS Track Bike: A track bike is my favorite choice for riding in the street. I enjoy the feel and the control. It’s light and fast and fun. I have a Carradice SQR mount on the seatpost when I want to carry anything off my back.

Affinity 212 Road Bike: Fast and fun. I have it set up with a Carradice SQR Slim bag to carry anything I want so I don’t have to use a messenger bag to carry things in the hot summers.

Salsa Casseroll: This I have converted into my “townie” bike. I have a rear rack as well as an Acorn saddlebag. It is my grocery getter, and all around cruiser that I like to relax on while riding.

Helmet aside, the one accessory that I can’t live without are lights. I have sets of all sorts and mix and match them on the bikes. My most recently acquired set is the Blackburn USB Flea. Also I have a Niterider light for those late dark nights.

What bit of advice would you like to share with new bike commuters?: My bit advice to anyone is that I would plan ahead. Map a path, and ask other bikers what route they think may be safest to get you started. Oh, and make sure you take your time to enjoy the ride!

I hope more people get motivated as the “safety in numbers” idea I think can work. It can be intimidating in a city that doesn’t support cycling as much as others, but don’t let that keep you off two wheels!

[To add your profile to the collection, please visit our Bicycle Commuter Profiles page. —ed.]

Gates recently released their Carbon Drive Calculator (CDC) for the iPhone. The CDC just might be the ultimate app for the combo tech-nerd/bike-geeks in the crowd. Besides calculating center distance, drive speed ratios, and optimum pulley size, the app uses the iPhone microphone to test belt tension. Yup, believe it or not, you pluck the belt like a string and the CDC estimates belt tension by pitch. I haven’t tested it yet (I’m not an iPhone user), but it sounds way cool if it actually works. If there are any iPhone users in the crowd who also run a Gates Carbon Drive, I’d love to hear how it works for you.

Download the App →
More at Gates →

put the fun between your legs from Dolan Halbrook on Vimeo.

Name: Dolan Halbrook
Location: Portland, OR
Started bike commuting: About 4 years ago when we moved to Portland
Commute distance (one way): 4 1/2 miles

Describe your commute: I’m lucky to live next to one of Portland’s “bike boulevards” (Lincoln) so it’s smooth sailing through residential streets until I get close to the river. At that point I ride over the Hawthorne bridge, parallel the waterfront going north, then turn onto a shared street for a few blocks until I’m at the office. My favorite part is circling the rose gardens through Ladd’s Addition on a (rare) sunny day.

Describe your bike and accessories: It’s pretty much the same as shown here, with a few minor changes over time. In other words, it’s a Rawland with a Rohloff.

What bit of advice would you like to share with new bike commuters?: Make lots of eye contact with drivers, and expect them not to see you. Also, headlights are amazingly good at avoiding people turning left in front of you at the last moment. On a happier, less paranoid note, it’s a wonderful moment when passing by all the cars stuck on traffic, realizing you’re free to enjoy a beautiful day.

[To add your profile to the collection, please visit our Bicycle Commuter Profiles page. —ed.]

As of this week, folding bikes will be allowed on some vehicles in San Francisco’s Muni transit system. This is big news for San Francisco’s many multi-modal commuters who have long been barred from bringing bikes of any sort inside Muni vehicles. According to an article in the SF Chronicle, the bikes must be folded and they cannot be placed on a seat or block an aisle. They will be allowed on buses and street cars, but they are still banned from the historic fleet of cable cars.

More from the Chronicle →

As much as I enjoy a variety of different types of bikes, from traditional roadsters and touring bikes, to folders, high-tech commuters, and recumbents, the most useful for living car-lite have to be those that are set-up for conveniently hauling things. A bike with a catch-all platform in front and a heavy-duty rack with a pair of large panniers in back is just tremendously useful for day-to-day living. And if that bike is designed from the ground up with the appropriate geometry, clearances, and frame stiffness for cargo hauling, it’ll end up being one of the most ridden bikes in the stable of just about any car-lite or car-free household.

The Civia shown above is probably the least photographed bike in our stable, yet it’s one of the most frequently ridden. I use it for nearly every quick trip under two miles, whether it be to the grocery store, library, restaurant, coffee shop, or a friend’s house. It’s the bike that requires the least amount of fuss while taking care of the humdrum errands that crop up nearly every day.

Whether it’s a pretty purpose-made bike like the Civia, a longbike or Xtracycle conversion, a Dutch bakfiets, or even a vintage mountain bike repurposed with the addition of a pair of heavy-duty racks, every car-lite/car-free household should have at least one bike that serves as a reliable pack mule.

Disclosure: Civia is a sponsor of this website.

Name: Brian Hough
Location: Olathe, KS
Started bike commuting: 2 Years Ago
Commute distance (one way): 7.3 Miles

Describe your commute: Mostly sidewalks across the suburbs. Enjoy nice hills, passing ponds, a few farm fields and a local airport.

Describe your bike and accessories: Robin’s Egg Blue 2011 Surly Cross Check. Brooks B-17 Saddle. Velo Orange Handlebar bag, Axiom rain proof paniers. Seriously, best bike I have ever owned. Everyone should commute on a cyclocross bike. Fast and tough.

What bit of advice would you like to share with new bike commuters?: Rather than buying everything you think you need, just get on your bike with a back pack and go. You’ll figure out what things you need as you go and you can buy only what you need that way.

[To add your profile to the collection, please visit our Bicycle Commuter Profiles page. —ed.]

Name: Joe Maki
Location: Superior, WI, USA
Started bike commuting: 1 year ago
Commute distance (one way): .5 mi.

Describe your commute: A flat .5 mi. ride through residential streets. It takes me almost as long to walk as to bike with locking/unlocking the bike. I ride because you can’t coast when walking :)

Describe your bike and accessories: I have a Raleigh Alleyway, full fenders, belt drive, Alfine 8 spd. IGH, Alfine dyno f. hub, PDW r. rack and B&M generator lights. It’s overkill for my .5 mi commute, but I gave up owning a car last Oct. and it’s my primary means of transportation. I have an ideal situation to survive without a car. My town is flat and I’m not more than 3 mi. from just about anything I need on a day to day basis.

What bit of advice would you like to share with new bike commuters?: Pick nice days starting out. Those first impressions will forever color your attitude toward bike commuting. You can add the challenging days as you integrate bike commuting into your life style.

[To add your profile to the collection, please visit our Bicycle Commuter Profiles page. —ed.]