The Ultimate Commuter Bike Challenge

Roadies have the Tour De France and the Pyrenees. Mountain bikers have Queenstown in NZ. We bicycle commuters have The Ride Home in the Rain at Night.
As in all extreme challenges preparation is key. Here are a few pointers.
1. Go easy on the front brake. It's slippery. Avoid metal drain and pot hole covers. Avoid braking heavily on white lines. Even wet fallen leaves on paver's can have you sliding.
2. Clip in pedals or cages are a good idea for keeping your feet on the pedals.
3. If you wear glasses don't. Get some contact lenses. Headlights shining into rain spattered specs make seeing anything well impossible.
4. It's always important to be seen on a bicycle. But at night in the rain it's mandatory (if you want to live.)
5. Get a waterproof jacket with zips to allow for ventilation.
6. Go slow.
7. Pack your stuff in plastic bags before loading it into your panniers or back pack. Wet gear will overload the bike.

Reasons to ride

1. Get healthier. Riding a bike is of course great exercise but commuting by bike has some great advantages and special characteristics. Getting on your bike in the morning or evening requires a small act of will in the beginning but soon becomes second nature. Once you start your journey you generally see it to the end. Unlike a gym where every exercise and every appointment can require an act of will, cycling can easily become part of your routine. Time spent in a car, train or bus can be used to exercise. Cycling is smart time management.

2. It will save you money. Even if you still keep your car (and most of us do) the savings in petrol, parking, tolls, fines and service costs are considerable. You can also stop paying those gym fees and put that treadmill for sale on Ebay. If you commute by public transport you can avoid the expense and those nasty ticket queues.

3. Save the world. Your carbon footprint is greatly
reduced when you cycle.

4. Get to know your neighborhood. Cycling the back streets of your own city you discover the hidden shops and cafes, the beautiful parks and gardens.

5. Improve your mental health. Public transport in Sydney is more often than not crowded, dirty and late.

It's all about the bike

Here are ten things that have made
my commute a lot easier.

1. Decent wheels. If you ride up and over kerbs, broken paving etc and you weigh more than 40 kilos super light or cheap wheels are going to buckle and break spokes. This is the cheap mountain bike's biggest drawback.

2. Buy the heaviest most expensive commuter tyres you can afford. Punctures from broken glass which seem to be everywhere in Sydney (due to our love of street drinking) will puncture your bike tyres on a regular basis unless you spend the money.

3. If you aren't prepared to clean your bike's gears once a week get a bike with an internal hub. I have. My Shimano 8 speed is plenty as long as you get the gearing right. Remember you need a gear for the steepest hill on your commute. Hey, if you run out of gears you can always just stop pedaling…

4. Don't be afraid of getting comfortable and unfashionable.
If your lower back hurts get an adjustable handlebar stem, if your bum hurts try another saddle etc Ask your local bike shop if pain persists, they love to sell you stuff.

5. If you ride a lot in the rain regular rim brakes aren't good enough especially if there are fast sections in your commute.
Hub brakes work better in the wet but lack power. Disc brakes are best. Remember to use more rear brake in the wet. A rear wheel lock up is manageable, a front lockup is a disaster.

6. Cheap suspension on a commuter bike adds weight and sucks pedaling power. Trust me, you don't need it.

7. Mudguards. Unless you like covering yourself and your bike in road gunk. Modern plastic guards weigh very little.

8. Clip in pedals and shoes are more efficient, safer and save your office shoes. Having a foot come off a pedal when it's wet, especially in traffic, is something you should definitely avoid.

9. Gloves and padded cycling shorts are a must if you plan on riding more than 5k.

10. Get a rack and panniers.

Ten tips for riding

1. Never change gears while standing up on the pedals. Sooner or later the chain will jump and you will pitch forward over the handlebars and kiss the pavement. As I was wearing gloves I managed to get away with only a grazed shoulder and six stitches in my chin.

2. Riding too close to parked cars. Sooner or later someone will open a car door which hurts horribly when you crash into it. Better to take up more roadway and suffer the occasional abuse from car drivers along the lines of "stay on the bloody footpath" then risk a catastrophic accident.

3. Get a bell and use it. When riding on footpaths pedestrians often behave like startled roos and have a habit of jumping into your path (usually in a very poor attempt to get out the way) Sadly, some people interpret the bell ringing as a demand to get out the way rather than a nice way of saying "here I come, please don't be afraid" You will probably cop some abuse along the lines of "stay off the bloody footpath".

4.Spend some time working out your route to work.
For most of us apart from the very fit and very brave, back roads, parks, cycle ways and even the footpath are preferable to competing with Sydney's crazed peak hour drivers on our crap roads.

5.Get a big bastard lock and leave it where you leave your bike for the day. Get something small and light and carry it on the bike for the occasional stop at the shops.

6.If you bought a mountain bike get rid of the knobby tyres.
They make riding any sort of distance way too hard.

7. Buy a rack and panniers. I wish I had discovered these earlier. Not only can you carry more stuff but they are a thousand times more comfortable than a hot, sweaty and heavy backpack. Get ones that snap on and off the rack, they're a cinch

8. Be seen. I shouldn't have to mention this but I still see (just barely) the suicidal or foolish getting about in stylish black without lights. Often at night. On a bike. I wear a flouro vest, plus the lights. Dorky or dead, your choice.

9. If you are riding on the road in the wet get some clip in shoes and pedals. A foot slipping off a pedal at the wrong time could end very badly. Besides you'll ruin your regular shoes. Leave them under your desk in the office.

10. Learn to fix a puncture. Yes, it will happen.