Since 2003, I enjoyed a relatively easy daily commute in a Honda Civic Hybrid by traveling the HOV lane. My commute only took 30-35 min. from Annandale, VA to Washington DC (17 Miles). At the end of 2005, the local government considered discontinuing the Hybrid Cars Bill that allows a single driver to use the HOV lane during rush hours.  This was my biggest motivation to consider different commuting alternatives. Additionally, I wanted to avoid renewing my annual parking contract at work starting January 2006, and therefore had to quickly find a different way of commuting.

I was not looking forward to traveling via Metro bus and train again due to the long ride and high cost.  Motorcycles are too dangerous; running is impossible .  I then began investigating biking as the best alternative. After I had the basic information, I did several trial runs during Nov-Dec 2005 with my old and heavy mountain bike and later decided to buy a hybrid bike . Winter is not the best time to discover bike commuting, but I was determined.  Since I was not physically fit to bike for the whole commuting distance (16 miles each way), I had to settle for driving part ways and biking the rest. Fortunately, I found an ideal place to park my car for free (Bluemont Park - Arlington, VA) and bike to DC for the remaining 9 miles.

So I started my daily bike commuting in January 2006. A month later, I bought a light weight folding bike (Dahon Helios SL) which enabled me to carry it in the trunk and eliminate my bike rack from the equation. After nine months, I was considering biking the entire distance. I was inspired by the example set by one of my co-worker who is also an Annandale resident.  After learning a few bike-safe routes from him, I started to commute the full distance a few days a week.  This is when I discovered that my Dahon Helios SL started rattling at the folding hinge. It did not seem to be durable enough for the longer commute.  After trying several bikes such as the Dahon Jetstream P8 (full-suspension folding bike), Davinci Millenium (carbon composite road bike) and Bike Friday (custom folding bike) for the longer commute, I finally settled with Bike Friday Pocket Crusoe Petite. My search for bikes that fits and performs well ended with this Bike Friday. Since January 2007, I have commuted daily from Annandale to Washington DC.  In the process, I have learned from others and improved my endurance, biking techniques, overall biking efficiencies and knowledge of bike routes.

This website is my way of encouraging others to do the same.  I was not an avid cyclist before 2006 and now I am enjoying the benefits of  year round commuting: get fit, saving money and the environment and arriving to work and home happy!!  How much saving, you ask? Approximately $2,360 of annually just for parking and gas alone.  This is based on Honda Civic Hybrid mileage (48 mpg average) with the gas price of $2.70/gallon.  Your saving will be considerably higher if you consider the wear and tear of your car and drive SUV! For more specific data on saving, you can use a commuting calculator.