8 April » Observations, Bike culture »
The reluctant commuter transformed
A while back, I branched off on one of those 30-something diversions that gave me a new job, a new home, and a whole lot of changes in the way my family did the day-to-day stuff we’ve been accustomed to for the past decade. It’s not really a mid-life crisis (I think those things come in the late 40s now…) but a bunch of friends are going through career changes, shifting away from high stress work to stuff that’s arguably less tough on the nerves.
Anyhow, one of those things I’ve been wrestling with is a car that never seems to get any better, despite throwing plenty of cash at our mechanic. For much of the winter, I was forced — there’s no way in hell I was going to commute in torrential rain, wind, or snow — to drive the vehicle but spring has arrived (hopefully) and I’ve started riding my bike to work on days when the weather doesn’t suck.
I’ve got a couple commute-worthy bikes — my others are dedicated off-road rigs and flatout suck for riding on the road — and I’ve been giving them each equal billing on my trips to and from work. That being said, a favourite is starting to emerge and, to be honest, I’m a little surprised with my preference.
The first bike is the xc rig that I’m rebuilding into an all-round trail bike. I’m familiar with the mountain bike’s geometry and am comfortable with the ride, despite some of the ghetto parts and the crappy fork. It’s quick and I can usually cover the 5km trip to work in 12 or 13 minutes.
My eye opener came when I started riding my ‘06 Masi Gran Crit to the shop. I picked up the bike last year as a way of getting in better shape for mountain biking and took it on semi-regular rides along long, quiet roads near my home. I’d hop on the bike in the morning for an hour or 75 minutes, knock off 40km, and call it a day. I liked the bike but, in all honesty, I don’t know a tonne about road bikes so it might have been totally wrong for me and I wouldn’t know.
But as a commuter (albeit an expensive one), the bike took on a new life. It corners in a way I didn’t expect and it’s a total blast to rip around corners at 40 or 50 km/h. The best thing about riding the Gran Crit is that my car’s been on the same tank of fuel for the past month AND it takes me less time to ride my bike to work than it does to drive.
So after only a month I’m pretty pleased about the experiment. I’m not sure that I’ll ever proceed beyond being a fair-weather commuter but it’s a fun way to get in some miles before and after work. It’s also given me the time to look around and smell the flowers as I listen to the Ramones’, the Buzzcocks, Beirut, or some other hipster 30-something band.