# working-from-home commute



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

After two weeks of not working due to the building flood, we were told to report to the branch uptown and collect a laptop so that we could work from home. It's a nice day out, and mass transit might be a little messed up still, so I was determined to ride, at least one way. 

Called the parking garage at the other building, asked if my bike permit would apply there- the guy said no, even though it's my company's building, there would be a $15/day fee to park the bike.  Fine. 

Did some Googling, found an old post on Bikeforums.net (the antique RBR?) that mentioned a storage place down the block from the building that took bikes. Called them, turns out it's now $10/day for bikes. 

Got dressed in a black lycra/poly shirt and running tights under my jeans. Brought the panniers and the company-issue messenger-style bag along with helmet and lock. Just wore my running sneakers, since the singlespeed track bike has toe clips.

Rode to the train, got a one-way ticket, easy trip there. Rode a few blocks to the storage place, a gritty building somewhat off the beaten path. I was a little concerned that the lady working the desk put my bike in full view of visitors, and she said there was no need to lock it. Was kinda worried, but kept the lock and helmet in the panniers and traded my bike and $10 for a little ticket. 

Signed in, and noticed that they were handing out laptops in boxes. Asked if they needed those boxes back- "Yeah, hang onto it."  Crap, there was no way the box would fit in the panniers, bag, or on the bike. Oh well, I could get creative with the bungee cord.

After schmoozing a bit and trading hurricane stories, went back to the storage place. Took the computer and the attachments out, fit them into the bag and panniers easily. Took off my jeans and stuffed them away. Told the lady about my predicament as I tried to figure out the box puzzle. I didn't want to ride the fail train home.

"Leave the box here, that's not a problem," she said. 

"Really? How much though?"

"Nothing, here just keep your ticket and pick it up when you can."  :thumbsup:

That totally made my day. I have to tip her when I go back there.

Ride home was 1hr 20min, almost the same as going to the original building downtown. It was also a lot more stressful with no greenway option! Oh well, still a blast.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

:thumbsup:


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

Excellent and good job. Pictures?


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Ha, I'm starting to think about carrying the camera on every commute. Or at least a GoPro to best document the insanity of riding up 8th and 3rd Aves.

So here's a few from around the internets that show what the flooding looked like downtown around my building; the area around the Port Authority where today's commute started, in the '70s and today.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Port Authority area:


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

What sucks is that now I don't even get to bike-commute _at all_.  The extent to which this sucks will be made especially apparent when my in-laws come to stay Christmas week :skep: Something tells me I'll be setting up camp at the local café.

<-------Picture Peg with a laptop, this will be me working


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

urban waterfall!

stay safe out there. it is fun hearing about bikes ruling the range when bad things hapen. not that i want bad things to happen, but i like the idea i can get around and not be too stressed. makes me feel good you are doing that.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

There's still loads of debris everywhere, adds a bit to the stress. You know, having to evade a tree down in the bike path means going out into the road. But I didn't encounter too much "Fred traffic."


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

I think that if I worked from home, I'd be more likely to "commute" by bike. Wake up, go ride for a couple of hours, arrive home, hit the shower, then start my day's work.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

If I were a morning person, definitely. The commute is a very motivating way for me to ride as fast as possible however. Guess I could *pretend* like I'm commuting......seems silly though! 

Sometimes I have to play mind games with myself. So if it's "bike commute vs train/subway," bike wins. If it's "bike ride vs sleep later," sleep tends to win hands down! 

Guess I'll ride to the pizza place for lunch, then after 5pm go out again.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Christine said:


> Guess I could *pretend* like I'm commuting......seems silly though!QUOTE]
> 
> 99% of my rides are silly too! I never actually "go" anywhere since my rides always in a loop starting and finishing in the same place. There is no purpose to my rides other than the exercise and love of cycling.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

_I never actually "go" anywhere_

So true! That is most of bike riding isn't it?? Just lamenting the total lack of commute right now. 

Like when my aunt said she wouldn't be hosting Easter for the first time in 8 years or so.......I was like, dammit there goes THAT great ride!  Something about going from Point A to Point B is more fun than laps IMO. 

Maybe b/c it's one way to talk to non-bikers about riding. You know, if you talk about laps you did around the park, their eyes glaze over; if you say, "Yeah I rode my bike here," it's often a reaction like, "_WHAT?!! _All the way from HOME?!! How did you DO that?? Did you have to pay bridge tolls? How long did it take? Where is the bike? Are you riding home too?"


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## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

Thanks for those pix. 

Kid #2 is still out of her building (_way _downtown) - hoping to be able to move back in by the end of the week...


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Wow, next week? That's great! We're thinking _months._

Got the work laptop open next to this one. Not much happening yet as the programs won't be available until tomorrow; all I got now is webmail. 

My bike is parked here in the living room, ready for a quick jaunt- let's hope it doesn't rain too hard (drizzly today.)


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Working from home is a little like house arrest. They know when you're away from the computer for more than a few minutes. So when I decided to ride to the vegetarian restaurant to pick up lunch, it would have to be a mini time trial. 

Google said it would take 25min each way, leaving me very little time to spare. On the way out the door, got a phone call; stopped to chat with the crossing guard a bit; didn't make the right turn and added a couple miles onto the trip there; guy working the counter took a little extra time to put together the dessert. 

When I got the food, noticed that it was in those round, flat foil things......I had brought the panniers, so each round thing was wrapped in a plastic bag and put in sideways. Lovely. It would probably not look great once home, but it would still be edible!

Took the straightforward route home, managed to have ten minutes to spare to reassemble the food (only slight leakage) and reheat lunch, then change.

The dessert does look funny all smooshed against one side of its container. Stuck it in the 'fridge as is.

So I'll have to tweak the food-delivery process a bit. Don't like riding with a bag off the handlebars.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Christine said:


> Working from home is a little like house arrest. They know when you're away from the computer for more than a few minutes.


You need some mechanical device that will wiggle your mouse every few minutes!


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

ukbloke said:


> You need some mechanical device that will wiggle your mouse every few minutes!


One of those auto-watch-winders, or maybe attach a cat toy so she bats it around. 

Gotta figure out how to carry those flimsy take-out containers on the bike. Too soft to bungee; too wide for the little box that fits on my rack; panniers are vertical.............:idea:


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## heybrady (Jul 3, 2011)

I have an app called 'scrollock.exe' that runs in the tray and presses scroll lock every minute to keep the laptop 'active'. About as simple as it can get, but works like a charm. PM me if you would like a copy.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

They would probably know to look for that kind of stuff. I can understand them needing to keep tabs on people, but it sucks having to sign in every couple of minutes.


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

Christine said:


> ... Gotta figure out how to carry those flimsy take-out containers on the bike. Too soft to bungee; too wide for the little box that fits on my rack; panniers are vertical.............:idea:


Rear rack? I would probably grab a small/square milk crate & cut it down to maybe 6 to 9 inches tall. Then I'd get ahold of some 2 inch thick urethane foam to make a bottom "shock absorbing"/insulating layer & some 1" thick styrofoam to make an insulated top/lid. (Or some 1/8" thk plywood or plastic for a durable top.) Extra urethane foam could be used as interior filler/surround if the crate's way too big for the food containers.

Bungee the crate to the rack only when you need to use it. Throw in the urethane foam for under the food, then the lid for protection on the ride home. Use the milk crate's side holes to bungee lightly to keep things from bouncing out without collapsing your containers.

Or trade in your ride for a Worksman Cycles delivery bike....


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

A Worksman! That would be an excellent addition to the stable. The stable I won't have unless I hit the lottery.

I'm not too proud to try the ghetto solutions though.

John ate what was left of the smushed tiramisu. Still tastes great!


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

Christine said:


> ... I'm not too proud to try the ghetto solutions though. ...


LOL!

Okay, *how about this* then? Looks like it should fit a couple of carry-out containers, & in style!


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Oooh that looks cool, and no need for a rack so I could use different bikes! Thanks.


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## InfiniteLoop (Mar 20, 2010)

Eiron said:


> Okay, *how about this* then? Looks like it should fit a couple of carry-out containers, & in style!


Great looking bag, but looks like anyone riding that bike would hit their thighs on the bag pretty hard every stroke. 

Maybe this: 

Pickup Frame-Mounted Front Carrier

And a wine crate?


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## SMK-SLC (May 3, 2012)

Christine said:


> So here's a few from around the internets that show what the flooding looked like downtown around my building; the area around the Port Authority where today's commute started, in the '70s and today.


If you don't mind my asking what building do you work in downtown? I miss NYC, but maybe not this month so much.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

My building is on Water Street, quite literally. It was featured on the news as one of the examples of buildings that got hit hard.

They are either going to make me commute out to the Long Island branch (ugh) or send somebody to the house to get the computer set up further. For now, I'm tethered to the work laptop (house arrest) awaiting directive and answering occasional questions.


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

Thanks for posting and welcome to the cyclo-commute world!

I saw some footage of Sandy shot from the bike the other night...
https://vimeo.com/52640864


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Wow, those guys are nuts. Great footage though! 

I can't help but want to slap the owners of the Bentley and the Mercedes.......


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Just got off a conference call with our manager, her manager and (I think) her manager's manager.

They reassured us that we haven't been forgotten, we still have jobs, and they're doing the best they can to keep us up & running in light of the damage. Really nice. 

When I worked for the city, during the last couple of disasters (blizzard and tornado) they docked us for our personal time when we couldn't make it to work. Yet it was the mayor himself who told us to all stay home! 

Nice to be treated like a human being again.


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## InfiniteLoop (Mar 20, 2010)

Christine said:


> My building is on Water Street, quite literally.


DUMBO or FDR?


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Right alongside the FDR.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

I used to work on Water Street. Preferred that to midtown. Let me guess the midtown office is on 6th Ave.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Started the new train commute yesterday. John suggested that I use his 10-trip ticket until I learned if this would be long- or short-term. 

Packed up the laptop in the company messenger bag, stuffed the ticket in a pocket under the flap, and walked to the train. Got on the train, opened the flap- ticket was gone. The pockets are not very deep it turns out. So I paid $15 for a one-way ticket on the train itself (surcharge tacked on), lost a $90 ticket, and still had to get a full monthly for $190. :mad2: I was in a foul mood all day.

No gym or shower at the uptown building. At least I don't have to get a monthly subway card for a couple months. Still want to try biking in.......maybe I should get a 10-trip for the month as incentive.........:idea: 

Would probably help to shave my head and keep wigs at the desk. Ah, one can dream!! Now that I'm getting the lay of the land, I can see about keeping stuff there, changing in the handicap stall.......but we're "guests" in the building so I can't get *too* comfortable.

My arms still hurt and it's been 2 weeks since I last biked uphill with groceries. That scares me.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Started the new train commute yesterday. John suggested that I use his 10-trip ticket until I learned if this would be long- or short-term. 

Packed up the laptop in the company messenger bag, stuffed the ticket in a pocket under the flap, and walked to the train. Got on the train, opened the flap- ticket was gone. The pockets are not very deep it turns out. So I paid $15 for a one-way ticket on the train itself (surcharge tacked on), lost a $90 ticket, and still had to get a full monthly for $190. :mad2: I was in a foul mood all day.

No gym or shower at the uptown building. At least I don't have to get a monthly subway card for a couple months. Still want to try biking in.......maybe I should get a 10-trip for the month as incentive.........:idea: 

Would probably help to shave my head and keep wigs at the desk. Ah, one can dream!! Now that I'm getting the lay of the land, I can see about keeping stuff there, changing in the handicap stall.......but we're "guests" in the building so I can't get *too* comfortable.

My arms still hurt and it's been 2 weeks since I last biked uphill with groceries. That scares me.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Worked OT all weekend, brought the bike in on the train just to have it with me yesterday (raining out.) 

Bikes are fine on the train (with a permit) on the weekends and off-peak times during the week. But I'd have to be on the train either before 7am or after 10am, and before 4pm and after 8pm to take advantage, so it's not an option on weekdays.

Got to the building, and security wouldn't let me in with the bike, even though the temp cubicle is on the first floor. And on the weekends, I have the entire floor to myself. Told the security guy that the mayor had passed some kind of law allowing bikes in office buildings, even if it's through the service entrance/freight elevator. Guy said he never heard that, and he'd meet me around the side to let me through the loading dock. 

Left the bike there in the dock, then walked the equivalent of a city block to my desk on the other side of the building. The empty, spacious building. Hell, there's even room in my cube for the bike where it wouldn't even block anything!

They've made it as difficult as possible for cyclists in this building, kinda strange given all the healthy incentives they normally offer.


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