Post Bike to Work Day discovery....

It's the weekend, so I hope you don't have to bike to work, but instead get to bike to play. Friday was Bike to Work day in most of the country and Wired.com had a helpful story with some tips on making biking to work and anywhere else a little easier with solutions for commonly held exceptions from sweating to safety. Some of them are things you buy, others are things you do. Here they are in order:

- "If I ride to work, I'll get hot and sweaty."
- "What about my music?"
- "I have too much stuff to carry."
- "Is cycling safe?"
- "Get out more."

A lot of these are tips that's written about in my Ten Tips for Carfree Living While there are great tips, here are some other tips that can help with bicycling as a commuting option.

- Have the right tires

A lot of people especially during the time when mountain biking was really popular, a lot of people bought bicycles thinking they were going to take them off road. Sounds familiar huh, SUV fad, mountain bike fad. Truth is most people never take their bikes off pavement, but they have to suffer the extra resistance when driving on pavement. Spending $30 to buy "slicks" or tires with out the traction knobs will improve your ride tremendously.

- Think zen

Bicycles are most often thought of as exercise equipment, and like treadmills and stationary bicycles, a lot get bought so they are never used. If you can be unattached to your bicycle you can buy two bikes. You may live far away from your work, but if you can buy a bike that you can ride mass transit, and a bike you leave at the other end. You can get a car off the road. We often think that we want the nicest bike, but a bike you can leave and not worry about too much means you can ride more.

- Explore

I bike to run a lot of errands, and avoiding the busy main roads means you can discover more of your surroundings. Friends are always amazed by how much of the neighborhood I know and that's because I actually have seen the neighborhood. Riding the side streets means you'll discover the little neighborhood places you always dream of having in your place, and you know they're often there.