Subscribe
Commute by Bike - Carson City
January 2nd, 2008 by Jeff Moser 
Hello and welcome to my first post on Commute by Bike! I have been a full time bicycle commuter since I moved back to Carson City, Nevada in November of 2007. For the past several years, I lived in the town to the south of Carson City, and had a 16 mile commute (32 mile round trip) by car. I was only successful bicycle commuting these long miles a few times. By the time I rode around at lunch, I would log 50 miles on some days. While it was a great adventure to ride these long miles, daily bicycle commuting just wasn’t practical for me. And these were the fair weather days!
In October of 2007 I decided I was done being a slave to my car, so my family and I moved to Carson City, just 2.5 miles from where I work. I immediately began bicycle commuting, and it has changed my life.
A friend of mine has a saying, “Live Free or Drive“. I have found this to be true. My snowy, bumper-to-bumper, white knuckled car commutes have been replaced by pleasant slow rides through the park. An hour spent in the metal cage has been replaced by cycling, my passion. I once figured out that I spent a whole 11 days out of the year sitting in my car commuting to work! I’d much rather spend those days riding.
I don’t claim to be an expert at commuting by bicycle. In fact, today I forgot to pack underwear! I’ve learned a lot over the last couple months though, and I keep learning something new each commute. I will share with you my stories and lessons learned on Commute by Bike, and perhaps you will learn something new or be inspired to start bicycle commuting yourself!
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:03 am
I’ve been commuting by bicycle for two years. Last year was 100% car-free and the year before was 98% car-free. Like you, I used to have a fifty mile round trip commute. I would try to commute once a month during the winter and two / three times a week from spring through fall. Sometimes I would have to force myself to ride to work (Hwy 50 gets old very quick and there are only two other options, both made the commute even longer). Now that I’m in town there hasn’t been a single day I wish I drove my car.
Nice post.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:21 am
More power to you. I live in the outer reaches and the ride into Carson City is a long one. I lapsed from riding for about four years, and getting back is rough. Highway 50 isn’t the best road; at least it has wide shoulders and it is down-hill on the way home- not counting the Moundhouse Grind. Say- Which is the Good Shop in Carson? I need to get 26″ road tires…
Keep up the writing- it’s inspirational to know someone else suffers like me- or at least pretends to…
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:19 am
Welcome and smart move making your commute more reasonable. Some people complain they can’t live closer to work because they can’t afford it. Dropping the cost of commuting sure helps, though.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Ah, the joys of forgetting clothing. The worst I’ve run into was doing lab work in the SF Bay Area. I threw a new shirt into my bag (still had tags) and when I tried to change at work discovered it had been mislabeled. Far from the XL I needed it was at best a M. I wore a hoodie all morning and then at lunch one of my biking buddies and I headed over to the Berkeley bike shop where he bought his bike (it needed some adjustments) and I bought a T-shirt for the rest of the day. After that I started keeping a set of “just in case” clothes in my desk.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Jeff P and Bob M - The HWY form Carson City to Dayton doesn’t seem too bad of a ride with the wide shoulder and reduced speed limit; however, there are a lot of businesses in Moundhouse, and that can be dangerous with the side traffic. After Dayton though…I wouldn’t want to ride that section!
As far as good shops in Carson…each shop has it’s own niche and personality. I like all three, but my favorites are Bicycle Authority and Bike Habitat; although the Bike Smith has a pretty good tire selection. Here’s a link to info on the Carson City Bike Shops HERE. You might want to call ahead and see if anyone has what you’re looking for.
Kim - Thanks. We actually found a less expensive house in town! And nicer too. It’s a buyer’s market right now, but unfortunately you have to be able to sell your house too. We got lucky. The biggest challenge is to make the decision to uproot your life and move it all somewhere else. It’s a lot of work and stressful, but worth it in the long run.
Joel - That’s funny! I think a good post would be “items to keep stashed at work”, combined with funny stories of things forgotten.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Jeff, Bob,
I too live in the area, well Reno, I have been commuting 16 mile RT for about a yr and a half. it should be interesting to compare our commutes.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I first considered commuting early last summer but haven’t managed it yet, even once. By the time I felt physically ready, we were well in to Autumn and while cold is a discouraging factor, dark and wet is downright scary–especially for a beginner.
The shortest distance between home and work (Columbia and Rockville, MD) is 22 miles. The safest distance, well over 25. So it’s encouraging to hear about long commutes–especially from those who do them regularly.
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Good work Jeff!
I moved work farther away from home and have to dress semi-nice, so things have gotten tougher. BUT coworkers live close to me and my wife WORKS close to me. So I keep the motoring to a minimum.
-M
btw, what were you packing under there?
January 4th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Good on you my friend and fellow commuter. I wish you the best of luck with your cycling, and also have written a few articles on cycling I thought you might find engaging. Here is the most recent one:
http://totalwellbeing.blogspot.com/2008/01/pedalling-money-saving-money-by-cycling.html
January 5th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Thanks for the mention on my shop(bicycle authority).Friday commute in Carson was so rainy I had to put together a spare bike with full fenders.I think my dog was more wet than me.Burley trailers are drafty. Friday night and Saturday was all pugsly.
January 6th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Jeff, is there a way you can post pics of Dan commuting to work with his dog?
That would be pretty cool.