Tag: biketowork

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50 Bike to Work Days

On Thursday, August 7th, 2025 I (e)biked to work using an ebike I borrowed from my friend Matt… and I was hooked.

Less than a month later I got my own darn ebike and kept biking to work. In fact, one of the primary reasons I got the ebike was to bike to work. (I mean, I am also old, have knee issues, and do not like going uphill.)

It’s now the end of November and I’ve rode to work (and back home) 50 times. That’s 50 bike rides to and from work in less than four months. That’s 25 hours fewer hours I spent sitting in a car in traffic, waiting, dealing with aggressive drivers, and just… being bored. (Driving can be pretty boring.)

That’s 25 more hours I spent outside, and probably another 25 hours in addition because while the ride is a little bit longer by bike, I also would leave early or come home late because I just wanted to keep riding.

That’s also 650 miles I did not drive my car, and instead, was on a bike, outside, often on the Oak Leaf Trail, seeing nature at a slower pace. I ride next to the river, I see rabbits and deer and people leisurely walking their dogs or kids playing soccer or runners or other cyclists.

Money-wise it’s probably still under $100 USD in gas that I’ve saved, but that’s fine. There’s also less wear and tear on the car since I didn’t drive it the days I biked.

Driving would normally take me 15 to 20 minutes depending on traffic, stop lights, etc. Biking takes me about 24 minutes if I really pedal hard, and 28 to 30 minutes if I go more leisurely or have to wait to cross busy roads.

And, none of that even mentions the good it does in the way of mental health or physical fitness. Granted, I am riding an ebike, so I can take it a little easier if I want, and sometimes I do, but other times I will pedal hard and get a good workout… but I also won’t kill myself. My knee doesn’t like that, and ultimately, I’m commuting, not racing.

My bike thinks I’ve burned 12,253 kcal and saved 231 kg of carbon emission. Cool! I’ve got my winter gear mostly sorted and I’ll see how much longer I can keep riding during the cold winter months.

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Bike Commute to Work

As I mentioned in I eBiked to Work! I am now riding an ebike to work. I do this whenever I can. I rode 17 out of 22 work days in September. There were a few days it rained, or I had appointments during or after work that I could not easily get to by bike, but overall I prefer biking to work.

I’ve basically replaced my old morning routine which was; get up, go for a local bike ride, go home, then go to work with the new improved get up, do whatever at home, bike to work. And I of course bike home at the end of the day. I had feared there were days I’d be too tired to ride home but honestly I get excited to ride again at 5pm!

Anyway, I wanted to map out my route. The route changes as I mix it up, but this is the old standard “I don’t want to think about it” route. I leave Enderis Park and head west usually on Hadley, or maybe Locust or Chambers, and take that up to 92nd street. Crossing 76th and 84th is not too bad. The rest of the streets are not busy, sometimes I don’t even see a car on this segment. It’s typically under 10 minutes…

Once I cross 92nd street it’s free and clear and I can open it up and speed (25mph) all the way to the Menomonee River Parkway. I pass Mount Mary (on the side) and then get on the Menomonee River Parkway…

I take the Menomonee River Parkway riding with car traffic, trying to keep around 25mph if possible, and then almost always have to stop at Burleigh… Once past Burleigh it’s a smooth ride with no stops until I hit Mayfair Road.

Now Mayfair Road can be terrible. (See this post!) But again, once past it I get some smooth riding at top speeds with almost no car traffic. I take this to the end where it meets Congress…

And then I’m on Oak Leaf Trail, and then into the woods, right next to the river, and it’s the best part of the ride. (Except for the occasional swarm of bugs!) I get to ride under Capitol Drive. Super thankful I don’t have to cross Capitol!

Once I cross under Hampton I need to get back to road level and… deal with Hampton. It can be bad. I just need to go from Mayfair to 124th street. I cross the river, the railway, and the highway… uphill. I try to go as fast as I can to make being on this segment as short as possible. Also, right now there is construction, which is good and bad. Sometimes I get my own lane, sometimes there are barrels everywhere. It’s the worst but it’s less than 5 minutes.

The intersection of Hampton and 124th is where I need to take the lane because of people turning right. Again, not ideal but it hasn’t been too bad. After crossing 124th the speed limit on Hampton going into Butler is 25mph and people tend to keep it under 35 there, so it’s not terrible. Finally I get to Menomonee Falls which has no bike or parking lane at all and have to ride on a tiny bit of shoulder for about half a mile. Again, not ideal, but not too bad. I can do this ride under 30 minutes. My best time is 23 minutes, depending on how long I need to wait to cross the busy streets, and if I use top PAS and pedal like crazy!

Now, there are other routes, and sometimes I do mix it up a bit, but to cross the river, and railway, and freeway requires I make a choice of the big roads… Hampton, Capitol, Burleigh, or North, and they all have their pros and cons.

I am mainly posting this so I can look back in the future and see how my route changes. This is the route I discovered that made me decide I could actually bike to work, so I wanted to document it.

Keep on Pedaling!

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1,400+ Miles on a Bike!

Back at the beginning of November 2024 I had biked 500 miles for the year. I did a little maths and thought that if I could bike at least 3 miles per day (or better yet, 5 miles per day) I should be able to hit 1,000 miles in 2025. Well, we passed that goal for sure. Back at the end of July I was at 800 miles and adding 200 in 5 months seemed doable, so I figured maybe 1,200 should be the new goal.

All that got thrown out the window because in August when my bike was in the shop and Matt loaned me an ebike. I started riding to work and then I got my own ebike and started riding to work nearly every day.

In September I rode a bike to work 17 out of 22 days. There were a few days it rained hard, and a few days I had appointments I could not (easily) bike to. I did manage to find routes to some of the grocery stores I used to drive to on the way home, so that’s a huge win.

I mainly started riding a bike for fitness and to get outside more, spend less time staring at a screen, etc. and I loved it. I still ride for fitness (to some degree) but now my knee doesn’t cause me as much grief and I can ride father and spend a lot more time biking. For many an ebike is an assistive device. If I would take an escalator or elevator rather than 5 flights of stairs, I don’t see an ebike any different. (And yeah, I cannot tell you how slowly I would go up a flight of stair with my knee!) Uphill? Wind? They matter so much less on an ebike.

Well, I plan to keep biking to work when I can, and just riding around town, etc. I’ll ride in the winter as well. I did a lot of indoor riding last winter but I’ll try to get outside as well when the weather is nice! Cold doesn’t bother me too much, but the wind and wetness do.

See Also: milesBiked – A Bar Graph Generator

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Menomonee River Parkway and Mayfair Road

The thing about how the government works, and how the system works, is that it’s often much easier to complain about it then it is to actually try to do anything about it and make things happen. I’m guilty of this, just like others are, but I learned something from my Pothole Journey, and what I learned is, it’s better to try than to give up and do nothing.

Since I started to Bike to Work I noticed that the worst part was crossing Mayfair Road on the Menomonee River Parkway. There’s no traffic light and there are not flashing lights for a pedestrian crossing. Cars are easily doing 50mph and expecting drivers to stop for pedestrians is insane.

Crossing in the morning isn’t as bad as crossing after 5pm. It’s like Fury Road out there! One day when I had to drive home on Mayfair I saw a cyclist stuck in the middle (like I’ve been) and other zip across (on bike or on foot) and it just looks super-dangerous. So I decided to do something.

I tracked down the City of Wauwatosa’s Service Request page and submitted a “Street Light Issue” and I had to choose an address which was incorrect, and choose from a menu that didn’t have the choice I needed, but I basically asked if there could be a be a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) added. Granted, those don’t always work, but it seemed like the simplest request, and you gotta start somewhere. (An RRFB is probably the wrong solution and I almost got hit using one just last month, but…)

To my surprise, I got a reply the next day!

“The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is planning to raise the Mayfair Road bridge over Menomonee River in the Year 2026. The project will include a bicycle/pedestrian underpass as well as improved lines of sight for the Mayfair & Menomonee River Parkway intersection.”

Wow! This was even better than I had hoped for! I’m excited to see this is planned for the future. The map above shows what I think they are suggesting. (The yellow box is the intersection and the red lines would be the pedestrian/cycling path.) I’m not sure if I got it right, but I guess we’ll find out.

I assume it might be like over on Hampton where the Oak Leaf Trail goes under Hampton, but there are paths leading up to the road on both sides. (See image below for reference.)

This would (will be?) a great addition to the Oak Leaf Trail as it allows for getting past Mayfair Road, probably the worst crossing in Wauwatosa. Anyway, fingers crossed it actually happens!

Note: Follow the links on the WIS 100 (Mayfair Rd./Lovers Lane Rd.) Rehabilitations – Milwaukee County page under “Public Involvement”.

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I got an ebike!

Happy Bike Day! You may have read about some of my recent ebike adventures, including riding to work. Well, even though Matt was in no hurry to have me return his ebike I decided to get my own.

I think it was the most recent Scrappy Hour bike ride that pushed me over the edge. It was 7 miles out, a break, then 7 miles back. I can ride that far, but with the hills, and my knee, it wasn’t easy. I’m also the one dragging on the way back. The group back was four of us and I felt like I was holding the others back a bit. I was huffing and puffing and they were fine. To be fair, I’m 98% sure I am the oldest person at Scrappy Hour, and the guys I ride with are 15 or more years younger than I am. (At least one said “I love going up hills!”)

So anyway, yeah. I still have the old Trek which is working really good now and I still want to ride it sometimes. I think. I mean, that’s the plan. I can always use it on the indoor trainer in the winter/spring when it’s cold and wet outside.

As I mentioned, Dana asked if I wanted a new bike. One of the reasons I was hesitant is because I am old. I had this vision of getting a new bike, then having my knee, or hip, or some other thing end my bike riding. But here’s the thing. I learned that people in their 60s and 70s are getting ebikes and riding every day, for long distances, and loving it! Some 72 year old dude was like “I got two knees replaced, I haven’t ridden in 30 years, now I ride every day!” and hearing that kind of testimonial made me realized that as an old(er) person, and ebike might be just what I need.

On the acoustic Trek bike I can typically do an hour long ride, and it’s about 12 miles, but I’m kind of spent after that, and tired, tired, tired. But with a pedal assist ebike I can ride longer, ride farther, and not end up totally exhausted. Hills? Wind? They don’t matter. The hills are the number one thing people mention. Another guy said he lives at the top of this huge hill in Pittsburgh and hated riding his bike because he would have to walk it up the giant hill when he got home. Now? Zip Zip! Motor assist up the hill. It really is a game changer.

When my neighbor who rides road bikes asked if an ebike is “cheating” I said “The only one being cheated is the automotive industry, because I can bike to work now.” and guess what? Since you can ride longer and farther, you can actually get more exercise on an ebike. I have the choice of an easy cruise to and from work, or more of a workout doing some heavy pedaling. Having that choice is amazing!

I’d say “long story short” but it’s too late for that. I got an Aventon Level 3 Commuter ebike. I plan to ride to work and ride for fun. This may be the first bike I ever bought for myself. The Trek I have was a gift from Dana, and the bikes I had as a kid were either gifts from my parents, or I built bikes out of random (s)crap we’d find and then buy parts to fill in the gaps. And then there was the dumpster bike I put together. So yeah, this is most likely the first fully working new-in-store bike I’ve ever bought for myself… And it feels good.