Bike commuting

Blog reader Kristen had some comments on yesterday's post that I think are good to share with everyone. I was talking mostly about road bike riding (the "spandex-clad road biker" type of biking), but commuting, as she discussed in her comment, is a good topic.

Ooooh! Exciting topic - I'm SO with you on this! What exactly is your challenge?
>>I don't know yet. I'm open. I like your idea of trying to ride through the winter. It's less of a challenge for me in SF, but it does get windy, rainy & in the 30-40deg range at night.

I ride almost every day - to the train station, grocery store, and rehearsals. (A trombone case intended to be a backpack can be converted to an excellent pannier bag.) My new (to me) commuter bike, which came from craigslist, rocks. It's all about comfort and cargo capacity - heavy, upright riding position, low maintenance. It's not going to win any races. This year's goal: Ride through as many winter days as possible.
>>Rock on, my dear. Rock on.

May I add another list in addition to your stuff to use on long rides?

Recommended bike commuter accessories for shorter/slower/flat Illinois type rides (besides the helmet, of course):

Fenders - useful if you might possibly ride through any kind of puddle or mud in your work clothes.
>> I don't have fenders on my bike right now, but may decide to add during my winter riding. May not be possible with my current commuter bike.

Lights - Critical for night riding. The more/brighter, the better. Assume you are invisible to drivers.
>> Agreed. I would like to have something on the side in addition to my front and rear lights.

Milk crate (mine is attached to the rear rack with zip ties) - cheap, durable, and roomy. It's amazing how much it can carry, and it feels much better to put stuff in the crate than on your back.
>> I just have panniers on the sides of my rear wheel. They're kind of small and I sometimes wish they were bigger. The top of the pannier rack has these straps that I do use quite often. Maybe I'll add a milk crate here instead.

Rain cape - campmor.com has a nice cheap one - goes on over any clothes you're already wearing, hood is thin enough to put a helmet over, it lets air in from underneath for ventilation and keeps you surprisingly dry from the knees up. It stays down via hand loops and leg loops inside. But it's pointless if you don't have fenders, as water will splash up under the cape from your unfendered tires.
>>Interesting idea. I'll have to look into that.

Chainguard (not easy to retrofit on a bike that didn't come with one) - lets you ride in any kind of work pants without getting chain gunk on them. Otherwise, you can just roll up your pants or tie something around your ankles so the pants stay out of the way of the chain.
>> The "one pant leg rolled up" is very haute couture here in bike-happy SF :)

Anything to add?
>> Yes. A lock. A small U-Lock (large ones that allow too much space between your bike and whatever it's locked to make your bike easy prey for thieves that shove a car jack in the U-Lock and open it that way) and a cable for your wheels. Or get rid of the quick release wheels.
And
A repair kit. Spare tube, pump or CO2 inflators, patch kit, tire irons. B/c you're going to flat sometime. Especially if you're riding on dirty city streets.
And (because it deserves a second mention)
A helmet.

It's funny that you hope commuters will get into road biking. Every time I see a spandex-clad road biker on my ride to work in business casual attire, I hope they also use their bikes for everyday trips.
>> I don't use my road bike for commuting-type trips, mostly because it's worth too much to lock up outside. But I think a lot of riders, around here at least, do have a commuter bike for around town. (I own a commuter, a road bike, mountain bike and my sister's got my beach cruiser down in San Diego.) A lot of friends that have been asking me about biking are finding that they enjoy bike commuting and would like to bike farther distances...much like their spandex-clad brethren. Easy to understand, living in SF.

Thanks, Kristen! Man, we were bike commuting before we knew it was called bike commuting. Of course, we didn't wear helmets on our trips to Schnuck's... but you did have those sweet baskets that were big enough for a gallon of milk.