My Bike Pays Me to Ride by Commuting.

Let your bike pay you by commuting.

So before I start this article on work commuting bikepacker style. I would like to point out that having the most expensive bike is not an important goal when taking up bikepacking. However if you stick with it for a while eventually you’ll be in the market for a new ride.

So you head to your local bike shop to kick some tires. Naturally you gravitate toward the high-end bikes with all the latest components and tech. After falling in love with the one bike that would change your riding life forever you ask “how much?”. Usually the answer to that question will break your heart. What happens next is you reluctantly start looking at the bikes in your budget. And that is what I have done as well.

What if there was a way that you could justifiably buy the bike you really wanted? Well I can tell you that I found a way for my bike to pay for its self. So lets break it down shall we? I live 25mi from my work, so 50mi round trip or 250mi for the five-day week. My typical gas fill up for the week is $80 (I drive an SUV) and add to that $30 for tolls. It all adds up to a whopping $110.00 just to go to work!

Besides the inflated amount of money it costs. At rush hour it takes me 45min to an hour just to make my way through traffic. By the time that I reach my destination I’m just plain agitated. Than I through on my riding gear, scarf down some food, kiss the wife and out the door to do a 2hr ride (just to shake the day off). By the time I’m done there is not time left to enjoy… well anything! Than just wash rinse & repeat.

Now for the ah-ha moment. My typical training ride is 25mi and that usually takes me about 1hr & 45min to 2hrs. When Im training for an event like “CFITT” I’ll at least double that mileage. By pointing my bike toward work I can get a 25mi ride in the morning and another later that evening, for a day total of 50mi. The best part about that is it only cost me an extra 45min to an hour! That makes the wife happy.

But wait there’s more!!! Every time I’m bicycle commuting my bike saves me $22.00 and If I do it 2 to 3 times a week my bike actually pays for its self by a hefty amount. Now remember I was going to come home and ride anyway so that translates to bicycle driven income and a time saved. From a bikepacking perspective you can put your bags to good use and gain valuable shakedown time on the bike. Now that’s another Win for bicycle commuting.

There is more to be gained from these commuting rides beside financial gain. Such as route finding practice. Sometimes on my way home I will experiment and explore new routes on the fly, any seasoned long distance rider will tell you, that is an invaluable skill that only gets easier with time. One other benefit to attribute is the fact that you start and end your day with endorphin inducing exercise, so by the time you reach your destination you are in a great mood. And what bikepacking aficionado wouldn’t love that?

Now for those of you that don’t “think” you have it in you to do that kind of mileage in a day or you live even farther. Stay tuned to Bikepabkinglife.com for an up coming article on increasing or creatively decreasing your commuting mileage.

If you would like more info on Bicycle commuting head over to http://www.commutebybike.com They got it covered.
HUGE Cycling Inventory at Mountains Plus, SAVE on Bikes and Accessories plus FREE Shipping! Click for Details!