Matt's first bike ride to work

I thought it was a no brain-er. I live in a town where the average yearly temp is 75 degrees. It's 7.5 miles to work, and flat. Being from Colorado this means one thing: you ride you bike to work. Seems logical. Except this is Houston. And Houston is in Texas. They said I was crazy. They said I wouldn't make it. They said that I would end up on the bumper of some buba's truck. (no really, that's a quote) But I did it. I started to ride my bike to work. So far I pulled it off once, and I'm going to do it again. Here's the story of my adventure.

If you want you can follow my along on Google maps. zoom in on Downtown Houston. And look for the long green patch that heads west. That's where it starts.

Allen Parkway
I left about 7am with my work cloths in my bag. And headed out to the street. I hopped on Allen Parkway, a fast road heading West. Not bad. Cars treated me pretty well, it wasn't to crowded, but you had to watch out for the gaps between the concrete. They can drop you in a sec.

I think I can safely say that Allen parkway is one of my favorite roads into and out of downtown. It meets all my requirements for a good road: Good traffic flow, few lights, not a highway. It runs along a park on the north, (Buffalo Bayou to be exact) and a neighborhood on the south. At 7am traffic is heading into the city so there's not that much to compete with. This went fast and clean. Off to a good start.

Kirby DR
Kirby cuts through a neighborhood call River Oaks. It's a beautiful place. Old and green, River Oaks is a neighborhood like none other I have ever seen. Usually neighborhoods like this are gated off. And when I say green: I'm not only talking about the giant oak trees, if you know what I mean. The lawns are well manicured, the houses are pristine, and everything is huge. Like 10,000 square feet huge. What's the point of having a house like that? Well so that everyone can see it of course. The people who live on Kirby want you to drive down their street. Not only are these people rich, but they want you to see exactly how rich they are. Think gawdy diamond rings. Think yellow Italian cars. Not Fiats.

As far as cycling goes, the street is narrow. The curbs are high. And it seems most cars didn't want to pass me. So I took to the sidewalk. Sadly it was nicer than the street, even though it was a little curvy for my tastes. I know that fancy sidewalks are trendy, and make for more interesting walking. But I'm trying to get to work, not pass an agility test. But it worked out pretty well, so I can't complain.Inwood DrAh, paradise. Wide residential street that stretches for the longest part of my ride. It's perfect. No lights, no cars, if all streets were like this, no one would drive a car. Not to mention this is still River Oaks. There's a mint julep joke in there somewhere but it's not really worth the time to find it. Willowick Rd.About the same. Goes right by the River Oaks country club.San Felipe St.And then, we go to war. That is how I would describe driving in the galleria. No imagine it on a bike. OMG you think the fact that I had a bike was a personal insult to cars. They went around me. Usually with a full inch or so to spare. Now first thing in the morning, it's not as bad. Collectively they will yield the right 12 inches of the street to a bike. But let's talk about that last 12 inches of road, OMG it's ugly. Cracks, holes, glass, groves, gaps, sewer drains, ripples, bumps, ouch. I wouldn't have been surprised to come across a land mine. It was to much for my road bike. And it left me a little rattled as I finally made it to my office after 30 minutes. Average heart rate 142.

The way home things got really bad. I wasn't ready for it. I got cut off, I got squeezed out, I had to cross over a grass lawn and start riding again in a parking lot because there was no sidewalk, and literally no way through. I was rattled, scared, and honestly thought I was going to have to walk my bike till I made it back to Willowick. I had to shift into bike messenger mode: Jump off curbs, pass all the cars at the light, and ride a little further away from the curb. Yes, it forces every curb-crawling SUV driver to put down their cell phone and change lanes just to get by, but it also forces them to see you, and in the grand scheme that's more important.

I survived to Willowick. But I was in a really foul mood. I was ready to pack up and move. I was ready to throw out my bike. Houston was collectively swatting me back for even thinking that I could ride on their streets. I have never been so rattled on my bike. It was a unique moment for me. I found myself afraid on my bike. I've been scared before: Tucking down the I-70 Frontage road passing Mother Cabrini shrine at 40MPH will cause your heart rate to rise even when your not pedaling. This was different; This was fear. I felt like someone had slapped my soul. I questioned all the decisions I had ever made. I felt like I had just been taken for a hundred bucks, or the brand new car turns out to be a lemon. I was mad, I was frustrated. I was ready to fold.

Then I saw something that surprised me: Another cyclist. God bless irony. Not just any, but another commuter, coming down towards me as even and calm as a lazy afternoon ride in the park. Suddenly it wasn't me against Houston. There were others out there. People who lived a way because they wanted to, not because society was telling them how to live. And self pity faded away and was replaced by a smile. Burning in my thighs was replaced with that deep pull of pushing pedals. And I picked up speed.

Is there a lesson there about society? About how miserable it can be in the big city? No. Just a lesson for me. Life happens everywhere. And how you choose to live it is entirely up to you. They only one who restricts what I can do is me.

A few days later I bought a cheap mountain bike. $150 in Houston will get you a $500 Denver bike. I cleaned the chain, bought new breaks and a big padded seat. I joined a gym by my office (for easy access to a shower). I packed my bag, bought a new lock, set my MP3 player to NPR, and I cycled out to work. Why take it on again? Well, because I'm a Texan. If Texas has taught me anything it's that it's my job to live my life the way I want to live. No one tells a Texan what to do. Ask Charles Bradley about that.

Here's the bullet points
1. Best part of the ride was zipping home past a line of cars on Kirby. I got to the light in 10 minutes. 20 cars ahead of a car that hit the street the same time I did. Sucka-heads.

2. I've been riding 1-4 times a week. Travel and other errands can get in the way.

3. In a car it's 35 minutes in the AM; at night it's anywhere from 35-50 minutes.

4. On a bike it's 35 minutes in the AM; and 35 minutes at night.

5. And it puts me in a great mood.