Matt Marx

Most days I ride to campus from Westwood. 

It's easy to get the impression that in order to bike to work you need to be a twentysomething hipster or a zero-body-fat racer. I'm clearly neither! I started slowly and worked up to the full commute over a few months.

There are lots of altruistic reasons to commute by bike, but I just think it's a good use of time. When I drive to work, I feel like the time is lost. Public transit is a bit better because you can work, but at least for my commute it's not very efficient.

Here are a few links with great information about bike commuting:

• Commutebybike.com
• Karl Ulrich's suggestions for bike commuting
• BikeForums Commuting forum
• Boston Globe article about my switch from car to bike commuting

Here's my bike, a Xootr Swift folding bike. I the frame and built it up with drop bars, BMX stunt wheels (for the Boston potholes), and a 9-speed drivetrain (stock is 8). Fenders for the rain and a rear bag for carrying stuff. And if it really starts pouring, I can fold it up for the subway and commuter rail. Otherwise it's nearly as fast as my road bike. Full story here.