Hurts So Good

Comments

7 responses to “Hurts So Good”

1. 

   Brian Scott

   May 2, 2007

   Hey, I just bought a bike to commute. I bought this one:

   http://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck_comp.html

   I have been commuting to work and back almost every day for the past week or so. Due to the nature of my work, I leave my car here (at church) overnight and then use it a bit during the day.

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2. 

   wadE

   May 2, 2007

   First… Surly Bikes? Where do I sign up?
   Second, I biked to work once last summer. I had wanted to do it, and we had a commuter challenge last year (matter of fact the kickoff is today for this year) where you had to take an alternate form of transportation to work (bus, carpool, bike, walk, etc.) and you were entered in a drawing for some fabulous prizes! Anyway, it’s 5 miles between here and work, but there aren’t any good trails that take me directly there only surfact streets with little to no shoulder, and there are a couple of bad-ass hills that about killed me. I also don’t like showering at work…it’s like we have middle school sized lockers… maybe grade school. It’s ridiculous. With that being said, I’ll give it another try this summer. Not be embarrassed to walk my bike up those hills.

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3. 

   anderswa

   May 2, 2007

   i drive. alone. in my hummer H3. back and forth, three times each day. and i use baby seals as fuel. only some of those statements are true.
   
   i admire people who are able to (and then choose to) bike to work. however– i am a bit of a sweater, and can’t imagine anyone would want to be around me after a trip into work on a 90-degree, humid july day…

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4. 

   Brian Scott

   May 2, 2007

   Sweating is definitely a problem. No showers at the church, so I clean up a little in the bathroom and then apply liberal amounts of deodorant to various parts of my body. Haven’t quite figured it out yet – and concerned about July.

   And Wade – what kind of mileage you getting with the seals? With gas prices climbing, I’ll be looking for options.

   Reply
5. 

   alex

   May 2, 2007

   Surly bikes have a good reputation. I know my friend Matt’s primary commuting bike was a Surly for a long time…
   It helps to have a shower at work. Mine actually even had hot water this morning, but I’m not counting on that to continue – it was tepid at best the times I came in early last summer to work out before work…

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6. 

   monkey

   May 2, 2007

   Surlyville: Population wadE.

   I’ve been trying to bike to work (9mi, wide shoulder, 1 killer hill; or 10 mi, small shoulder, 0 killer hills), with limited success. Been doing it on a beat-up hybrid-frame bike (Mongoose) with fat tires. Just got a road bike (Specialized), which helps. I’m hoping to get into a good rhythm with it this spring/summer and keep it going… I always feel like a putz when I pass the other bike commuters in my car. Plus, there’s a bus route on most of the ride so I can wimp out when the headwind gets over 30mph.

   I’m a pretty big sweater too. Somehow, and I think this is saltwater vs bacteria, it doesn’t translate into stench on the same day. Next day different story. So I wear moisture-wicking clothes on the bike, don’t shower at work, and I don’t end up smelling. We actually have three shower stalls, and the tiny middle-school lockers. I’m 6’3″. Other than socks & undies, I can’t hang anything in there to dry ’cause the bottom half is a crumpled mass on the locker floor. Useless. So my bike doubles as a clothes rack.

   Do Surly bikes come with Surly beer?

   Reply
7. 

   monkey

   May 8, 2007

   So Al, if the ride *in* hurt, how was the ride *back*? I tend to find my quads inexplicably tired halfway through the ride home — then I remember why…

   Reply