Current Bike Commute To Work

So for those who haven’t heard my last day at NI will be June 24. I’m moving on to a different company, ATMI, in a different space, chemicals, in a different location, Round Rock. I will find out more about what I’ll miss about NI once I start but the one thing I know for certain I’ll miss is the commute to work by bike (ATMI is about ten miles away and regardless there is no good bike route to get there as I’m not suicidal). So, to commemorate my current ride for posterity, let’s do a blog post on it.

Actually, this is the third route I’ve used to bike to work as two of my previous houses were both within biking distance. One of them involved riding 400 yards through weeds and crossing a railroad track, ha!

Right now I live about 6.75 miles away from work which is definitely close enough to bike. These days, since I’m trying to get back down to my pre-Graham weight of 185 pounds (I’d jumped up to 195 due to increased soda consumption and decreased sleep) I try to bike in as often as possible, usually making it three days a week. My ride of choice is a hybrid bike I bought for $375 in 2004 from Buck’s Bikes in North Austin. I had no idea what different types of bikes were at the time, my last experience with a bike having been with my old Schwinn with no gears and blue tires, endless amusement being provided by riding hard then skidding on the concrete to leave a little blue tire streak. This new bike has 21 gears and hand brakes, both of which were entirely new concepts to me but of course I now have a handle on. And for those who don’t know what a hybrid bike is, it’s a cross between a road bike (ultra-thin and smooth tires, very light, no shocks) and a mountain bike (thick and knobby tires, very heavy and big shocks, even for the seat). The Buck’s guy told me my bike was what people in China used to commute. Sounded good to me!

Of course, I had to make some modifications to make the bike commute-worthy. I used to carry my stuff in a backpack but a couple of years ago added a little luggage rack to the back of it upon which hang two panniers, a fancy word for saddlebags. I need them to haul my laptop, lunch/snack food, my electric razor, keys, wallet, NI badge, cell phone and wedding ring (I take it off when I ride so as not to worry about it falling off). The panniers are a lot better than a backpack because there is no weight on your back (though some people claim you are less maneuverable). Of course, bikes aren’t designed to have so much weight on the back tire so I use a thicker thorn-resistant tube on it which seems to help prevent tube blowouts. The panniers also have a pouch for a fluorescent green rain cover should it ever rain again here in Central Texas.

During the winter my early morning ride begins in darkness so I take some steps to make myself visible. First of all, I have a blinking red light on each pannier. They don’t blink synchronously which must seem weird to drivers on the road but if it makes me more noticeable that’s good. I also wear a reflective jogging vest and have a little xenon light on the front, more to be seen by cars turning out onto the road than for seeing objects since I ride on some well-lit streets (and now in summer ride in early morning light). The more visible I am, the better.

So even though I’m a serious cycling commuter at this point I still don’t do the spandex thing. I used to when I first started out, wearing tight spandex shorts, a tight cycling jersey with the pouches on the backside to hold your stuff and shoes that would clip you into the pedals. A few years ago I gave it all up because I decided that I wanted to keep cycling a somewhat fun activity, not a serious one. Therefore, my riding outfit is usually a white t-shirt, basketball shorts, old tennis shoes and, in the afternoons, sunglasses. Oh, and a bike helmet. Gosh I thought those were dorky when I was a kid (never wore one until 2004 actually) but now that I’m an adult, well, they still look a little dorky but they may just save my life. I’ve worn the same one these last seven years and though the plastic housing is severely cracked the styrofoam core is solid. Still has my number from the 2004 MS150 on it too, eh (riding that first 100 miles was probably my life’s ultimate physical accomplishment).

My commute begins with a mile or so ride through my neighborhood. There is no bike lane and the road is fairly narrow but there’s also very little traffic at any time of day and particularly not at 6:30am. I do have to watch out for the occasional stray dog or limb but otherwise there are no obstacles to worry about. There is a sidewalk so I also don’t have to worry about joggers or walkers, all of whom I try to wave at in a friendly manner. It’s my opinion that cyclists are too standoffish, looking like we all want to be Lance Armstrong and that we own the road. Therefore, I try to do the little things to make people feel more comfortable around me. This includes following most traffic laws (more on that later), waving at pedestrians (or sometimes just nodding), smiling when I know people are looking at me like when I go through an intersection, giving drivers a thumbs up if I know they’re hanging back on purpose to give me some space and telling other cyclists hello when we’re sitting together at an intersection or I pass them (unless they’re doing something stupid like riding on the 183 feeder with no helmet or lights at an abysmally slow pace).

I do encounter three stop signs before getting out of the neighborhood, bringing up the issue of cyclist behavior. Should you act like a car or not? I try to act like a car as much as possible but I won’t come to a complete stop at stop signs if there is not a car that is arriving before me or around the same time. After all, it’s best for everybody if I get off the road as quickly as possible and besides, it takes me quite a bit longer to get up to full speed than a car does. So of course at 6:30am I just roll right on through the stop signs, sometimes halting my pedaling just to show any cars following me that I am paying attention. Not sure if they notice but what the heck. If there are cars arriving ahead of me at an intersection, I’ll take my legs off of the pedals and come to a complete stop. Most of the time it seems like the drivers think I’m going to roll through so they’re surprised when I come to a stop. I like to think that the more I do it the more people will become used to it and thus we’ll reduce accidents. Of course, there will always be morons like the guy Jennifer and I saw yesterday on Lamar pass everybody on the right and roll through the red light without even looking. That’s another thing about intersections. Most cyclists seem to roll right up to the front at a red light. Why would you do that? All of the cars just have to pass you again, increasing your risk of getting hit. I hang back in my spot in the queue, sometimes even getting out into traffic to do it. The exception is if there’s a bike lane but I’ll still hang back a little bit if it’s prudent such as when people are turning right.

Anyway, I cross Anderson Mill at a traffic light that is usually frequented by enough cars I don’t have to run it. Why would I run it? You try sitting at a pressure-sensored light waiting for a car to show up so you can cross. I could walk over to the pedestrian crossing light and hit the button there but that’s too much trouble. Anyway, I rarely have to run that light. I just hang to the right as far as possible and let cars turning right go around me. When the light turns green, I go straight across, staring at anybody coming the opposite way making a left hand turn to hopefully make sure they see me, not that I could do much if they didn’t.

After Anderson Mill I pass a middle school and then follow the road to the right, pointing me almost due west as I roll through a neighborhood of duplexes. This is the spot where the wind is most likely to hit me hard if it’s blowing in in the morning. Riding into the wind on a bike can be a major effort, particularly when you’re riding a hybrid bike with a larger-than-normal rear tube and about twenty pounds of extra weight on the back end (laptop and lunch in glass containers). It’s funny too how, while you definitely notice when the wind is against you, you don’t notice as much when it’s at your back (though it definitely helps you go faster).

After another third of a mile I’m at the intersection of Turtle Rock and Pond Springs (Broadmeade turned into Turtle Rock at Anderson Mill). This is also a traffic light and it takes an ungodly amount of time to turn green even though traffic on Pond Springs is quite light. My old rule for this intersection was ‘wait for the green if there is a car there’. After one too many four minute waits, the rule changed to ‘wait ten seconds for the green if there is a car there but after that get outta there’. I don’t like disobeying the traffic rules but I think everybody sitting in their cars would do the same thing and are envious :)

Pond Springs is two-lane with a nice bike lane on the side. The pavement is also quite smooth so it’s a rather pleasurable part of the ride except for the occasional road debris from an accident. You never know what will puncture your tires but you also can only do so much to avoid things without getting into traffic. I err on the side of staying in the bike lane. I also have to watch out for people pulling out of apartment complexes. If I see someone who is on a pace to intersect my path, I always slow down until I know they see me. Better to stop and let them go through then getting hit.

After ascending a small hill, Pond Springs crosses Hunter’s Chase at a traffic light that is quite reasonably timed. After that it’s a nice downhill slope to a dogleg into US Highway 183. I don’t like crossing 183 but I have no choice. It’s a funky intersection where I cross under 183 at a traffic light at Pond Springs, take a left turn onto the feeder road, immediately go through the light at Spicewood Springs/McNeil, pedal fifty yards uphill on the feeder, take a right turn onto a side street and then almost immediately turn left onto the four-lane Jollyville Road. The part on the feeder is definitely the most harrowing part of the commute but the good thing about having people sitting behind me at the Pond Springs/183 light is that I know they see me and they’re going reasonably slowly. Once I’m on the feeder they all pass me and then there is a gap before the next set of cars coming down the feeder road rolls through. I ride like heck on that part. Occasionally there is someone riding in front of me who is not wearing a helmet or not trying to ride fast which makes me angry. Get a move on, moron!

Jollyville is the third major segment of the ride and it’s interesting too. For starters, it’s a major four-lane road that is used as an alternative to 183 which it parallels. People can go 40 or faster down it. It also winds and is slightly hilly. It has a lot of businesses and side streets that open onto it. But at least it has a bike lane. This is where I’ll usually see a cyclist or two. I try to stay in the middle of the bike lane as it’s very narrow and sometimes cars get quite close (as well as buses). My guess is that Jollyville was originally built without bike lanes but then added them without widening the road, narrowing the lanes instead. It’s not the most comforting but at least there are more cyclists on the road so hopefully the drivers are used to them.

I stay on Jollyville for a mile or so then take a left onto another major road with a bike lane, Duval. Taking that left is interesting as I have to cut across two lanes of traffic to get into the left hand turn lane for cars. I’ll usually steal a glance over my shoulder when I’m getting close and dart across if I don’t see anyone. If there’s a car coming, I’ll usually stop and turn to get a good look, waiting for an open time to cross. At 6:50am I don’t have to wait very long. It’s fun being in the left-hand turn lane because then you really do feel like a car. I turn onto Duval and roll down a quick hill (past the Chuy’s where sometimes I can smell what I think is the frying of tortilla chips) to my old nemesis, 183. This time it’s a straight shot through an intersection with very few people behind me and then into a bike lane as Duval turns east and into a one-lane road.

Near 183 on Duval is an elementary school with an elderly crossing guard. I make a point of saying hi to him every morning and every morning I think he’s surprised to hear a cyclist talking to him. He composes himself enough to say something back like ‘good morning’ or ‘how are you doing?’, the latter being useless because by that time I’m rolling right past him and unable to answer. I also like that spot in the ride when the school zone is in effect and I can ride at almost the same speed as the cars on the road.

I continue down Duval for a mile or so, watching all the while for people pulling out of their driveways or out from side streets. At the bottom of a small hill it turns abruptly left and crosses the railroad track that runs behind NI. This is a little difficult as I have to make sure I’ve slowed down enough to negotiate the curve and not be going so fast I can’t signal that I’m turning right after the railroad track into NI’s back entrance. Sometimes also there is a train coming through which is fun to pass up the long line of cars and go right to the front. One time I even went under the guard arms but only because they were just coming down, the train was very far off and, well, because I could. Graham and unnamed kid #2 (no, you don’t even exist yet), if you’re reading this don’t do that.

The back entrance to NI is tight and windy and there is usually no room for anyone to pass. Luckily enough there’s usually not anyone to do so. I go up one last small incline, turn left into the Building B parking lot, turn right towards Building A and wham, I’m there. Another ride down!

Going home is a bit different as of course it’s always hotter, particularly during May-September when it’s in the mid-70s in the morning and the high-90s in the afternoon. On those afternoons the turn onto Duval makes you feel like you’re breathing in fire from the black asphalt. I have to do some tricky maneuvers on the ride home. The first is turning left out of NI’s back drive onto the sidewalk, then riding it for a minute or so across the railroad to the first side street. At that street I do a quick 270 so I’m like a car wanting to turn left onto Duval. I can’t take a left out of NI’s back entrance because cars are only supposed to go to the right and there’s a big median anyway. And also it’s quite un-carlike (is that a word?). At the side street I’ll usually cross into the middle of the road, stand there and wait as Duval has a lot of cars on it in the afternoon. When there’s a gap, sometimes after more than two minutes of waiting, I cross over into the bike lane and continue on my way.

Getting to 183 is also tricky. The problem is that Duval turns into two lanes and then three for the right-hand turn lane. But I want to be in the middle lane so I can go through under the overpass. What I have to do is hug the right-hand side until a gap opens up, sometimes by a friendly driver who recognizes my predicament, and then roll into the middle lane up to the light. Most people are taking a right so once I get into that middle lane I’m ok.

I go under 183 but then have to scale a little hill with no bike lane on it, forcing me to get onto the sidewalk in front of a car dealership. Luckily there are usually no pedestrians and regardless I don’t want to be on a four-lane road with no bike lane while riding uphill (which of course causes me to ride considerably more slowly, particularly if I’m riding against the wind). I get to Jollyville on the sidewalk, take a right and then immediately get into the bike lane.

A note about wind. It seems it’s always either out of the southeast or the northwest, the predominant directions I travel on my commute. That can make it a bear but hey, it’s good exercise. I prefer having the wind in my face in the morning since it’s cooler then but also because there’s less traffic and thus I’m not in as much of a hurry to get off the road.

Jollyville abruptly ends at the side street whose name I forget right next to 183. To get up to Spicewood Springs/McNeil, I take a left on this side street (while being in the left lane, usually in a line of cars inching forward) and then an immediate right into an older shopping center dominated by a Big Lots. I always figure this shopping center is not a great place to ride as you have to watch out for cars from several directions, your view sometimes being obscured by other cars.

I get up to Spicewood Springs at the end of the shopping center. At that point the road is three lanes. The two on the right go straight through (there is no dedicated right-hand turn lane) and the one on the left is left turn only. The middle lane is where I want to be because you can also turn left on it, putting me on the right side of the feeder road and able to easily turn right onto Pong Springs. There is always a lot of traffic at this intersection and I usually have to wait for the light to turn green to be able to ease out into traffic and sit at the red light. It’s interesting as I’m literally in the middle of the traffic, surrounded by cars and heat and enveloped in the noise and gas smell from them and the traffic on 183. I like it though when there is a car sitting behind me because I know they know I’m there. When the light turns green, I accelerate as fast as I can (which isn’t abysmally slow but the gap I create is probably 2-3 car lengths), get up to the feeder, throw out my left hand to indicate I’m turning and make a hard left. It’s not the easiest turn, particularly at full speed, but I haven’t wiped out yet. And I smile for the benefit of all of the people sitting on McNeil staring at me, eh!

Then it’s back on nice smooth Pond Springs where, if the wind is from the south, I can really move. I go through Hunter’s Chase and make an easy right onto Turtle Rock at the light. The hill leading down to Turtle Rock is one of the steepest on the ride and I have to pump my brakes sometimes if someone who is coming the opposite way and is turning left doesn’t look like they might see me.

I continue down Turtle Rock and then veer north towards my neighborhood. It was at that veer that I got, out of nowhere, stung by a bee on the side of my head. I thought I’d been shot with a BB gun or something. Also around there was where I was chased by a stupid golden retriever that thankfully I was able, with some furious pedaling, to outrun.

I cross Anderson Mill at the light (also getting into the left lane to avoid the right-hand turn lane) and am back into my neighborhood, Forest North. An easy ride on the two lane road through three stop signs, a right turn and then a left, a short ride up a little rise and wham, I’m at home, all sopping wet with sweat and ready to be attacked by the Kid and the Dog (well, mostly the Dog).

That’s about it for my commute. Thanks for reading and we’ll see what exercise I’m able to whip up at ATMI to make up for its absence.