Then in 2003, I was blessed with a relatively easy daily commute in my new Honda Civic Hybrid by traveling the HOV lane (I-395). The commuting time is 30-35 min. from Annandale, VA to Washington DC (17 Miles – car route). 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 rail again due to the long ride and high cost.  Motorcycles are too dangerous; running is impossible .  I then began investigating biking as the better alternative. After I gathered 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.

I formally 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 few days a week.  This is when I discovered that my Dahon Helios SL was not 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. It was January 2007, when I began full 16 mile bike commuting 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 (in 2006).  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.