It seems everyone wants to be a bike commuter these days. And why not? Well, here’s something those of us who just do it might not have considered – croutonsupafreak asks on MetaFilter:

My goal is to be bike commuting 14 miles round trip five days a week by the end of the summer. What should I be doing in the next month to get in shape before I am able to start riding? What should I do once I have a good bike to gradually build up to full commuting?

Flippant answer

I’d suggest following these three easy steps:

1. Get on bike

2. Ride in the direction of work

3. Get off bike

But seriously

Like anything unknown it can seem harder than it actually is. Looking at croutonsupafreak‘s question, s/he is getting some regular exercise already so a 23km round trip shouldn’t really be a killer.

The replies all give good advice, useful for anyone considering starting to ride to work (minor disagreements over gear notwithstanding). But the underlying message from everyone is the same: ride. Maybe start out with shorter rides on the weekends or don’t ride to work every day. But ride.

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