Over the years I've developed a certain philosophy about communting in New Orleans. Now, you need to understand that my daily commute is fairly short - about four miles each way - so that philosophy pretty much goes out the window if yours is, say, 10 miles.
Long, long ago, in a previous life when guys wore bell-bottoms with flowers on them, I acquired an old British 3-speed frame from a friend of mine for the princely sum of $10. Scrounging through my own leftover bits and pieces from racing, along with some help from the junk parts bin at the LBS,* I pieced together a simple commuting bike to get me to and from school. That was something like 30 years ago, maybe more, and I'm still riding it to and from work most days. This is not exactly what "cyclists" (tm) dream of in a commuting bike. It has a single old center-pull brake on the front that I won at some point in the 70's at the infamous "Betat extravaganza." I built up the wheels with old hubs from the parts bin and old rims, and the tires currently on the bike cost around $7 on sale from one of the catalogs. The wheels are 27", and they just barely fit on the bike that was designed for 26" wheels, even with the full-coverage steel fenders that I got for free from the shop as take-offs from some 10-speeds they sold in the 70's. Currently, the bike is set up as a 1-speed in a gear that's really a bit too big for climbing the overpass I traverse every day. One tube is presta, and one is schrader, since that's what was around last time I flatted, and the rim strips consist of a couple of layers of electrical tape. It's been a few colors over the last 30 years, but since around '85 it's been spray-painted battleship grey - Urban camouflage. Most of the components, except the steel cottered crankset, are alloy, since that doesn't rust. That's also why there's no rear brake - too much maintenance! If I have to stop suddenly at anything over 10 mph, I'll definitely have to bail, which brings me to my commuting philosophy.
There was a time when I used my commute as part of my training, or at least for exercise. Now, however, it's just a nice way to get from point "A" to point "B." I try to emulate the little old ladies you see in Italy on their way back from the market. Those girls, on their 40-pound bikes with almost-flat tires, know what they're doing, trust me. It all focuses on trying to exert as little effort as possible. After my morning training ride of anywhere from 25 - 45 miles, I don't really need to be working up a sweat on the way to work. I am able to come in to work a bit later than most, so I can avoid the worst of the rush-hour traffic, although even that isn't really so bad on the shady local streets that I use. I commute wearing my work clothes - cotton or wool slacks, leather shoes, etc. I even wear a tie in the winter. The concession I make to the summer heat is to pack my dress shirt in my messenger bag, and change shirts at the office. On any day when it's over 75 degrees in the morning, which is about 8 months of the year around here, I arrive with a sweaty shirt regardless of how slowly I go. I'll even admit to not wearing a helmet. Somehow it just doesn't seem appropriate when I'm going the same speed as a jogger, and besides, I would end up with helmet-hair for the rest of the day. I'm already considered eccentric enough as it is without the Albert Einstein hair.
The bike is equipped with a chainguard, an old generator light, a rear rack, and a flashing tail light, along with some of those "half" toe clips, and it's really quite comfortable to ride unless there's a serious headwind. The whole point is that you don't need a fancy bike to make short trips like this, and it is actually possible to ride in regular clothes without looking like a bike messenger when you arrive at work, as long as you just keep those old Italian ladies in mind!
* Local Bike Shop
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