New job, new commute, new routines. It hasn’t been easy getting adjusted. At 10 miles away as the crow flies, my new job is within reasonable bike commuting distance, but it’s not the five mile ride in the park of my previous commute. Industrial parks and suburban expressways standing between me and my workplace.
There were times when I thought God didn’t want me to ride my bike to work anymore. My first week of work was the first week of the daylight saving time change, so the sun didn’t come up until after 7am. Then the rains that eluded us all winter arrived–not good when your commute has dirt and gravel stretches. Then there was a one-day trip to our Irvine office to visit the boss, and another day when the boss came up to San Jose and I had to pick her up at the airport. At least my new office has room for a bike (and a coat rack to dry out my gear).
The next week the weather cleared, I adjusted to the time change and Dick and I spent a blustery Saturday exploring route options. By week three, I found my rhythm and only drove the day that I had an 8 o’clock meeting. I was back in the saddle again (and the coffee in the office was better than expected).
How long does it take you to adjust when your routine is disrupted? What part of your routine would disturb you the most if it were changed?
Alex
April 3, 2012 at 6:38 am
I began a new routine when I got my folding bike last year. I still drive for part of my commute, but I can fit this bike in my trunk, so I’m riding about half of it now. The first week or so was a little rough – searching out good parking spots, remembering everything I needed to take with me – but now I’ve got it down. I can also keep the bike right under my desk!
ladyfleur
April 3, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Folding bikes are perfect for bi-modal commutes and tight offices and homes. I’m taking the train for part of my commute most days. We’re fortunate here that the train can accommodate full-sized bikes, but if it didn’t I would have bought a folding bike for sure.
Rachel Unger
April 3, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Oh, geez, that must have been… fun.
Glad you weathered the discomfort and made it work. I found the time change rough this year, too. My office has lousy coffee, so I didn’t even have that to help!
ladyfleur
April 3, 2012 at 5:50 pm
I forgot to mention the other obstacles:
The day I decide to take the train is the day Caltrain’s computer crashes delaying trains by 35 minutes. I had just missed the earlier train by about 15 seconds.
The first day I rode my new bike I got a flat on the way home, on the rear wheel with the Nexus internal hub that the owners manual suggested taking to a shop rather than take the wheel off.
I was too annoyed (and tired from the new job stress) to blog about it all.
Rachel Unger
April 4, 2012 at 7:18 am
…OW. That’s awful! (Did you fix the flat yourself, or take it to a shop as suggested? And why is the wheel so special?)
ladyfleur
April 4, 2012 at 10:38 am
I was near the light rail, so I caught a ride home and Dick fixed it for me.
The Nexus hub has internal gears that are connected to the shifters via a cable that shouldn’t be messed with. So you have to take the tire out of the dropouts to replace the tube, but you can’t really remove the wheel completely.