I live downtown. Right smack over Route 66, on the south side of the tracks bisecting Flagstaff. I don't even need to bike around town - I can just step outside my door and walk. It would take longer to drive anyway, after negotiating the labyrinth of one-way streets and jockying for a convenient parking space.
I'd rather live in my cute, two-story, 1891 whitewashed second-story apartment (it used to be a boarding house and sometimes stills seems like one) than buy an affordable home in the outlying areas of town. I like being in the center of it all. I love leaving my car unused for days, even weeks, at a stretch.
But maybe this isn't your situation: you own that home already, you have a family and want to keep them in the country, you don't like the noise of the city. But chances are, you can probably still bike to work.
[calvins.dad.sm]
You don't need a great bike for this. Bike commuting ain't like racing the Velodrome. Pick up some old beater you have hidden somewhere, even if it's got a basket and handbrakes. You might need that basket anyway (although I prefer to use a Timbuk 2 Designs courier/cycle bag for a briefcase).
A few considerations before you begin:
First take the bike to your local wrench. The bike shop mechanic might give your rusty heap an odd look; just say it's your commuter bike and needs a tuneup. Everyone respects a bike commuter. In some towns, like mine, the oldest, crappiest-looking single speeds are even considered the penultimate cool.
Buy a decent helmet, bike lock, waterbottle (with cage), light rain jacket/windbreaker and you're golden.
(This link for REI's cycling page is an education in gear, if you are clueless about gear, or if you are simply in the mood to shop: http://www.rei.com/reihtml/gear_shop/ind...
You can make it work:
When I lived in Boulder, Colorado, my first job was in Denver, a good 30 miles down the interstate. Still, I was young, I was opinionated - and I was determined to never once drive my car to the city. Motivated mostly by environmental values, partly for physical fitness, and a penchant as well for financial cheapness, I cooked up a complex commuter plan.
Each morning I biked to the bus station in Boulder, locked my bike, hopped the commuter line, and discharged in downtown Denver. From there I could catch the free trolly across town, or walk the seven blocks. Mostly I walked. I enjoying people watching and window shopping in this dense center of a large urban center.
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