Finally did it!

Warner

Member
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Joined
Jun 3, 2008
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Chicago 'burbs
I got tired of making excuses for myself (some of which are actually very valid) and finally rode my bike to work today. It’s a 20 mile ride each way. I left my house at 5:34 this morning, not knowing exactly how long it would take to get here. On my route there are two sections of bike path that total about 3 miles where it’s pedaling only (those weren’t too much fun!) so that slowed my average speed a bit. Here’s the good news:

The trip took me 50 minutes total! I pulled in the lot at 6:24 It’s taken me that long in my car when there’s an accident or something. Typically in the car it’s 30 minutes, though.

I made it on less than a tank of gas – less than 20 ounces, so somewhere around 150 mpg.

While cruising about 35 mph down route 72 (Higgins) between Golf and Roselle roads, a cop drove right by me…didn’t even give me a second look.

My headlight system worked really well. I did all sorts of calculations to figure out how long my battery would last before needing to be recharged, but you don’t really know until you TRY it. This time of year I really only need about 15 minutes, but I left it on the whole way, just to test. The light seems just as bright when I got here as it did when I left my house. It’s basically a motorcycle headlight – 55 watts and it REALLY lights up the road. I MIGHT turn it on for the ride home to see if it makes it home….but I don’t really want to completely drain the battery either…that’s not real good for them.


Will I do it again? I don’t know….ask me tomorrow!



Warner
 
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That is awesome !!! Could you come up with some sort of solar charger ( if your bike is in the sun ) to recharge the bats during the day ?

David
 
That is awesome !!! Could you come up with some sort of solar charger ( if your bike is in the sun ) to recharge the bats during the day ?

David


Oh, probably. But if I was really worried about it I could just pack my little recharger and bring my bike in the building here at work and recharge it during the day. As bright as the light still is, it MIGHT even make it all the way home if I needed it to....

Warner
 
Even better ! Lighting is one of the last things I have to tackle - last night I got my first case of road rash after a really nasty pothole on a night ride. As I saw it too late the thought "this is gonna hurt" went thru my mind. Im not sure which is worse - the missing skin off elbows and knees or the pride that was smacked as I laid in the parking lot....... no that was worse -LOL.

I love to hear stories that show our bikes can be more than a hobby, they are transportation ! Hoping your trip home is as good as your arrival !

David
 
Even better ! Lighting is one of the last things I have to tackle - last night I got my first case of road rash after a really nasty pothole on a night ride. As I saw it too late the thought "this is gonna hurt" went thru my mind. Im not sure which is worse - the missing skin off elbows and knees or the pride that was smacked as I laid in the parking lot....... no that was worse -LOL.

I love to hear stories that show our bikes can be more than a hobby, they are transportation ! Hoping your trip home is as good as your arrival !

David


I'm VERY pleased with my headlight system! If you want details about what I used I'd be happy to share them - I am sure I posted it all in another thread but would be happy to again.

And 20 miles is a haul. I could definitely see it as being viable transportation though. 50 minutes is NOT out of the question for a commute. More than anything, my schedule will prohibit me from taking the bike more often. Thanks for the well wishes for my commute home...I'll definitely post and let you all know how it went. There will cetainly be more traffic on my way home...

Warner
 
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