Name: Hap Harlow
Location: Stuttgart Germany
Started bike commuting: 2005 after a friend showed me how simple it was
Commute distance (one way): 12 miles

Describe your commute: As an American living in Germany, we take advantage of the total integration of bicylces into the transportation network. On any given day, my commute routes me through rolling cabbage fields, thick woods, neighborhoods and busy city streets–all entirely and safely blended with farm tractors, buses, trains, pedestrians, and even cars!

Describe your bike and accessories: For a few years Bary Boulanger build this Gaansari “Mudplugger”, intended as a cyclocross bike, but actually well suited as a light touring bike with slacker geometry, room for fenders, eyelets for racks and beautiful continental lugged styling. This bike is ridden every day; through rain, snow, ice, sleet in the long dark winters, with studded tires and good lights powered both by batterey and also by a SON28 dynamo–built just down the Nekar river in Tubingen; the summers are particularly enjoyable with long days and perfect weather. There are few things more wonderful than a sunrise ride down the Seven Mills Trail or a dark wintertime ride through the fresh snow!

What bit of advice would you like to share with new bike commuters?: For most trips 1-10 miles, a bike makes more sense than a car. Fit a rack to the bike you’ve and swing a leg over–give it a try!