5 tips for making your Tucson bike commute more comfortable

This story was produced for Living Streets Alliance by #ThisIsTucson. Thank you for supporting the organizations that help support us!

At 9 a.m. on a workday, Congress Street through the middle of downtown Tucson is bank-to-bank with cars, SUVs, a street car, delivery trucks and sidewalks full of pedestrians. It's loud, tight and more big-city than Tucson usually does.

Now ride your bike into the middle of it all. Avoid the street car tracks, they'll suck in your tire and take you down. Try to get over and you'll get honked at and harassed. Watch the door zone and the sea of pedestrians. 

It's not a comfortable place. It was especially uncomfortable for new bike commuter Andi Berlin, the food writer for #ThisIsTucson.

We recently opened a new office downtown, so Andi went to BICAS and picked out Madison. A metallic red Nishiki. She bought a helmet and a U-Lock and started riding to work at Broadway and Stone from her UA-area neighborhood. Straight down Congress. 

There is a better way. 

Kylie Walzak, the lead program manager for Living Streets Alliance and Cyclovia Tucson coordinator, met Andi at her house and they rode together into the office on a calmer route that avoids Congress Street altogether.

Check out the map to see how they did it.

Here are Kylie's pro tips for bike commuting comfortably:

1. Get the right bike for you

When choosing a bike for commuting, the most important thing is that it is comfortable to you — and that the comfort is maintained after riding it 20, 30, 40 minutes or more.

If you are riding in the city, choose slick rubber tires, not the knobby mountain bike tires (the surface area of those tires make you work harder to go faster).

Choose a rear rack and look into a set of panniers (aka saddle bags) instead of a backpack. Your back will thank you and won’t get so sweaty.

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Always keep your tires inflated to the MAX PSI (written on the sidewalls of the tires), and check air pressure every two weeks at least.

If you are riding only in Tucson, you can get away with single speeds that have just one gear, but more gears are nice if you want to ride farther. It’s easy to convert any good, solid, steel frame road or mountain bike into a bike that is perfect for commuting and BICAS is a great resource for help with that.

2. Use neighborhood streets

Go a little out of your way. It might add a few minutes to your commute but the comfort of fewer cars is worth it. Check the Tucson Bikeways map for help finding bicycle boulevards and other bike-friendly routes.

Andi and Kylie used Stevens Avenue to avoid the Fourth Avenue underpass and Grossetta Avenue to avoid Stone or Sixth Avenue through downtown. 

Try to cross any busy streets where there are lighted crosswalks. 

Andi went to 9th Street where there is a lighted HAWK signal to cross Euclid. Bikes are allowed in crosswalks in Tucson.

3. Cross streetcar tracks at a 90-degree angle

Bike tires can get stuck in the streetcar tracks if you are parallel to them. Cross them at a perpendicular angle. Be super aware if you have to ride next to the tracks not to get too close.

4. Bring a bandana or a small towel to clean up

Summers are hot in Tucson. Spring is hot. Fall is hot. Bring a towel or wet wipes to cool off and clean up when you get to work. 

5. Lock your frame and your wheel

When you get where you're going, use a U-Lock on a thick, solidly-installed bike rack.

Look for bike racks in front of a building (not around the back where no one will see your bike being stolen).

Run the lock through both your bike frame and your front wheel to keep thieves from taking the parts of your bike they like best. Bring your helmet inside or lock it too.  

The mission of the Living Streets Alliance is to promote healthy communities by empowering people to transform our streets into vibrant places for walking, bicycling, socializing, and play.

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