I rode to work on the ‘Electric bike’ about 4 times. I found myself pedaling most of the way to work and most of the way back. I felt like I was cheating by using the Electric Motor.
Being an Ebay Junkie, I did a search on ‘Commuter Bikes’, and there it was… A Kona Smoke. I watched the auction finish, it sold for about 250 bucks. I visited the Kona website to get the specs on it. I then went to my LBS who happened to be a Kona Dealer. I want it to see it, touch it and ride it. “Unfortunately there’s not much demand for this type of bikes”, the salesperson said, “but I can order one for you”. Being 5’7″, I can either ride a medium or a small size bike; I NEEDED to ride this bike. I went back to the Kona website and located another Bike Shop close to home. I called them to see if they had any Smokes in stock. “Well yes, we have 2, a medium and a small”. As soon as I got out of work I went straight to the shop to check out the Smoke. Needless to say, I walked out of the shop with a Medium size Kona Smoke. I also purchased a rear rack and a rear view mirror. If there was one thing that I learned from my first 4 commutes to work, it’s that a rear view mirror is a must.
I’ve put over 400 commuting miles on my Kona Smoke and it has never broken down, in fact, I’ve never ‘tuned it up’. I just clean it and lube it regularly. The Smoke is one of my favorite bikes to ride to work.
I usually ride a 20 mile round trip commute; it takes me about 44 minutes to ride to work. My route consists of riding on a major, but wide avenue, a bicycle river trail and a side street to a major thoroughfare. I ride to work at least 3 times a week. Being a father of 2 little girls, I have other commitments that do not allow me to ride to work everyday.
Riding my bike to work has enabled me to keep my weight down, be in enough shape to ride a century, save money in gas and most of all, it has kept my spirit young. So, ride your bike to work, it’s easier than you think.