My first long-distance commute was a for summer job in college, doing freelance ad paste-up for the yellow pages. Part of being a student means not owning a car. But I did have my 12 year-old Raleigh 10-speed and a daypack.

The ride—from my house in Congress Park to the big white building at Parker and Iliff—was about 10 miles each way. Wearing cutoffs, cotton t-shirt, and sneakers tucked into toe clips, I carried my 25-lbs. of ad materials and paperwork back and forth 2-3 times a week.

Lise Neer

Arriving at the office complex in a fine “glow,” I’d get a few stares from the pantyhose-and-heels set, feeling slightly superior for not having to be cooped up inside all day. The office workers were probably turning up their noses at my outdoorsy essence, but I told myself they were jealous.

A couple years later, I graduated and landed a full-time job closer to home, and continued to ride my bike, now a shiny blue Trek 400 (the Raleigh had been stolen during a visit to Safeway). The commute was shorter, which was a good thing, since I had to dress more appropriately for work and ride in those clothes. Then I got a car, and didn’t ride my bike for a long time. Not even for fun. I drank more, ate more, put on weight (driving I-25 to my job was no help), and felt lousy a lot of the time.

When my first marriage went south, and the resultant crazy energy had to be expended, I got out the Trek and began doing lots of laps around Washington Park. Later that summer I met my ‘coach,’ and—in spite of everyone’s cautionary words—future husband. He said, “come for a ride with us,” it was only 20 miles, but seemed to take all afternoon to get to a convenience store snack stop somewhere in Aurora. My commute nowadays is almost that far.

A dedicated resident of central Denver, I found my next job in Golden. This would be my longest commute, but also the easiest by car, going the opposite direction of most downtown workers, but driving I-70 quickly got boring.

As a committed cyclist, I took up the challenge of riding that distance and making the time for it. Fortunately, the new workplace had showers and lockers, so it was easy to ride to work almost every day during the warm months, and keep a change of clothes at the office.

Then the company decided to sell off a division and lay off a bunch of people, and they sublet the lockers-and-showers part of the building. And then we moved house a few miles further from my job.

So now the challenge is: how to get there without expending so much effort that I feel the need to bathe before putting on suitable office attire. Using the somewhat public bathroom sink wasn’t a good solution, and there was no place to hang up a towel.

One way around this is to take my bike on the SkyRide bus from downtown to Cold Spring Park-n-Ride, and cycle the rest of the way. If toweling-off is still necessary on arrival, I use a recently discovered product, called Rocket Shower. A spritz here and there, aiming some at pulse points to help cool off, and you’re fresh enough to get through the day.

Using the bus also stretches my commuting ability to 4 seasons; when the weather is less conducive to riding, I take the bus farther and bike shorter distances in between. (Oftentimes, while the sun shines in Denver it’s raining, snowing, or just plain colder near the foothills.) And I’ve met some good friends on that Downtown-to-Cold Spring run.

My wardrobe has evolved toward lightweight and wrinkle-resistant, making it easier to carry in my bike’s rack trunk; other heavier clothes get dropped off once a week if I do drive. I also carry a few days’ lunches on Monday, and drive home with the containers and laundry on Friday. One travel trick I learned is to carefully roll up your nice shirts so they don’t wrinkle. And stashing light sweaters and layers in my desk drawer is easier than trying to stuff a heavy wool pullover into my bike bag. Likewise for shoes: I keep a few pairs of work-style footwear parked under my desk.

As spring warms into summer, I exchange the heavy bike with sturdy tires, fenders and rack, for my lightweight, folding roadie, which can be brought onboard the bus if the front bike rack is full. After the winter workout on my 35 lb. bruiser, it’s a delight to hop on the little road bike and sail up the hills. On those really hot July days it’s good to head out earlier in the morning so I’m less overheated when I arrive, and that gets me out of work earlier for a fun afternoon spin before heading home.

After getting all this planning and preparation and mileage under my belt, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to work in Boulder. . . .?

by Lise Neer, Vice President of Membership, BikeDenver

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