Things I learned …

commuting to work from upper Lynn Valley to Yaletown;

Full time bike commuters are to be respected and admired for their commitment, endurance, heroism, fortitude, gallantry, environmental compassion and for being damn good people;

Full time bike commuters who ride throughout the winter should be accorded even greater respect .. and should be treated with some caution as they must be frigging nuts;

It takes me 45 minutes to get to work and 1 hour 10 minutes to get home;

I can’t seem to walk in a straight line after I get home;

The amount of crap you have to carry, to appear even somewhat respectable in the office, is horrendous;

Cleaning up at work without shower facilities leads to some very awkward moments in the washroom as you stand in the sink to wash down pits and nads;

My shiny and expensive six inch travel, “do it all” mountain bike . doesn’t;

The Maxxis Minion 2.5 DHF Super Tacky does not appear to be the tire of choice for the hard core (or soft core) bike commuter;

On the last leg of the trip home, climbing Hoskins in 30 degree heat, I hate every damn fucking knobble on those Minions;

Riding southbound on the causeway can be insanely fast and makes passing slower bike traffic or the odd pedestrian a heart stopper;

Odour control at the Lionsgate Waste Water treatment Plant, if present, ain’t working;

There are some very odd looking people who stand in the bushes along the causeway;

Lionsgate Bridge is not something you want to ride across if you suffer vertigo (don’t look, don’t look);

Leaving your riding gear in the office sure cuts down on the number of visitors;

Crows appear to delight in sitting above bikes lanes and use you as a target (are they really that smart?);

Someone is putting a huge amount of effort into landscaping the grassy verge on the southbound approach to the Lionsgate Bridge, just as you turn off Marine Drive (anyone know why?);

Bike lanes in Vancouver are excellent; bike lanes in North Vancouver, not so much;

You get to see some pretty nice streets and neighbourhoods you would not normally see on your car based commute;

Is it really that difficult for pedestrians to understand the term BIKE lane?

My, oh so comfortable, WTB Deva saddle isn’t (fortunately I no longer need to have kids);

Encountering a lawn sprinkler during a hot ride home is a wondrous event (PS my apologies for the wheel ruts through the new lawn);

When I arrive home, how the hell am I still sweating 5 minutes after my shower?

Stopping for lights sucks and ‘hyper mileage’ techniques also work on a bike;

Beating traffic along Marine Drive on the way home is awesome; having the same traffic blow you away up Keith road, not so much; and,

Riding to work often turned out to be an awesome and exhilarating experience, however, riding home generally sucked big hairy donkey balls, which seems to be backward, but that’s life I guess.

If you think the Lions Gate is bad now you should have seen it before they upgraded it.

That was a good list. Minions for commuting, eh?

That was a good list. Minions for commuting, eh?

Add 30 cm's of winter and they are good.

Global did a segment on the old guy who has taken stewardship in the grassy garden area just before the LG Bridge, total labour of love, awesome job.
I used to ride across the bridge like 28 yrs ago, single sidewalk, bus went by and you could almost touch it.
Anyone else sensing a backlash from motorists, like it seems they've had enough of cyclists. Usually always males 35-45'ish. Angry mid lifers.

Minions for commuting, eh?

Yeah, I have one do it all bike ……. I run them at 40 psi, that must help…right? :)

Yeah, I have one do it all bike ……. I run them at 40 psi, that must help…right? :)

No need to hit the gym for leg strength.

Riding a mountain bike to work eventually sucked the life force from me - if you ride (urban) offroad get a cyclo-X or else ride a road or commuter bike.

I keep a stash of clothes at work, and run resupply missions on the days I don't bike commute. Carry minimal stuff to and from work. Hope you don't pack shoes on your ride to and from.

Luckily I have a (nearly) private shower at work, a locked room to store my bike and even a place to hang wet clothes and no dress code. Am truly blessed.

I don't care much for riding over the Second Narrows Bridge. I often feel that if I were to die an untimely death, it would be there. Among the possible scenarios,

- being hit on the sidewalk by an out-of-control vehicle
- taking a massive spill on the 4-foot wide sidewalk
- clipping the rail and going over the railing into the Burrard inlet (almost happened once - going around a pedestrian)
- being hit by debris falling off an overloaded big-ass truck doing 100 km/h on the bridge (as evidenced by vehicle debris on the sidewalk)
- being blown into or over the railings by the wind
- being in the middle of a bridge collapse induced by a bridge-shaking double-trailer thundering over the bridge

About 15 years ago, the right railing you see in the picture wasn't there …

About 15 years ago, the right railing you see in the picture wasn't there …

….and somehow,we who commuted over the bridge did so without dying,arguing with peds or fighting over right of way.

Imagine that.

….and somehow,we who commuted over the bridge did so without dying,arguing with peds or fighting over right of way.

Imagine that.

We were too scared shitless to even take our eyes off the sidewalk and make eye contact. The worst was riding against traffic in the night and being blinded by oncoming headlights. It use to require 3 crossings of the Hwy 1 entrances and exits to get from one side of the bridge to the other (it only takes 2 now, but at least they are joined by a bike path).

I would recomend a pair of these on a second set of wheels if you don't plan on getting a commuter bike.

Highly enjoyable list. I made it from east Lynn Valley to the south end of the causeway in 28 minutes yesterday on my 6" bike with a two 2.3" Purgatorys. Was super surprised to see such a short time and it made the possibility of commuting to downtown a much more realistic goal. As for the complaints about driver and pedestrian interaction, that is a major deterrent…

I would recomend a pair of these on a second set of wheels if you don't plan on getting a commuter bike.

When it comes to commuting, I've pretty much tried it all at some point for nearly 2 decades, I think. Slicks are nice, but I think weight (esp since OP's commute involves a hillclimb), rigid ride and geometry are much bigger factors. 15 years ago, I switched from knobbies slicks on a Kona Kiluea about and I found it made less than 5 minutes difference per hour of commuting. Plus having one bike puts you between a rock and a hard place. Changing tires (or worse wheels and cogset) just to go ride offroad is surely a deal-killer for someone with one bike.

My advice is invest in a good commuter/road machine. They are really not that expensive compared to most MTBs. I use the word "invest" literally. If you think of how much you save on gas, maintenance, insurance, the stress of sitting in traffic and the side benefits of health and a means of logging "training miles" to make you even more of a beast on the trails. You will also save on wear and tear on your "good" bike. Super-tacky minions must get ground to dust pretty quick if you ride them on pavement a lot.

You will succumb to the need for a roadie so the following things are what will really mess you up when you do. That list alone is a justification for a full carbon roadie so it wont be long now.
1.Clipping in. You will fall onto pedestrians at a stop light because you forgot you were attached to the bike at least once.
2.Zero slack on you front end is terrifying going downhill at speed.
3.You will soon find out that road bikes don't curb hop as well and tend to throw you off if you try to "have fun".
5.One day you will forget your pants and have to sit in your own sweat all day.
6.Sewer grates are just wide enough for your road slicks to fit in. (this has hilarious consequences for everyone but you.)
7.Curved handle bars are weird feel kind of like using someone else s body armour until you get your own sweat all over them.
8.The shifters are super cool but it will take you 6 months to remember how they work.
9.They may be called brakes, but they are really "slow you down a little"s.
10.You will always have chain grease all over the inside of your right leg.