Hey all. I have recently put to good use my very first road bike! It was a bike my father bought me when I was round about 13 years old back in the 80's. A little bit of unknown trivia fact is that my Father was actually a main investor in the very first "Cycle Analysis" back when it was down by Bear Creek off of Main Street. This was before Jana and Vern's time... A woman who's name escapes me now ran the shop while my dad fronted her the start up money. After about a year, the lady bought him out who I am assuming later went on to sell it to Jana and Vern. Anyway, a new mechanic who had been working at this first "Cycle A"... A guy named "Marty Hammond" sold my Dad on getting 5 brand new Miyata Alumitech 6500's for he, myself, my sisters and my step-mom (the whole family). Anyway long story short and a fast forward to present day, I am the avid cyclist of the family while the rest of my family has moved away from cycling almost entirely... The other 4 bikes were either sold or stolen while the parts of one or two stay laying around my Dad's garage... Mine was the only one of the 5 bikes to survive the years in tact and in good working condition. I have always kept the bike safe and in good working order hoping to find a good use for it again one day. So now, with the recent economy making money so tight and gas prices being so high much of the time... Not to mention my personal need to get in as many extra base miles as I possibly can squeeze in right now... I figured going the commuter route would be a great idea! It would also be a great excuse to resurrect the old Miyata from bike limbo! I decided to start out by replacing some of the older dated parts with newer ones that I had laying around from upgrades I had done on other bikes over recent years. For instance, the bike is now riding on an 05' Shimano Wheelset and Ultegra Groupo. The bikes original shifters were actually on the downtube! (that's old). I have now spent a little time and money just adding the commuter bike essentials... Things like fenders, lights, saddle bags, a lock...etc. My being new to the whole commuter thing, I am hoping I can get some advice from those of you who commute on a regular basis. I know Steve and Spencer have been die hard commuters over the years. I'm sure there are many others on our team who are commuters too (or have been so at one time). So can you guys offer up some advice in the way of tricks and advice on what made life a little easier commuting to places like work, the grocery store, errands and so on... Especially in the more extreme elements like we are experiencing around the valley right now...? For instance how do I best commute to work across town in the early morning when it is wet and freezing out when my office doesn't have a shower or anything other than a small bathroom available for changing clothes and maybe washing your hands and face in the sink...? I am not able to sit around in my cycling clothing all day long at my job. So I will need to bring work clothes along with me in a backpack and swap out between commutes. I will also need to bring lunch with me instead of going home for lunch like I am used to doing. I don't want my diet to suffer due to commuting and need to figure a way to fuel properly for my evening training rides while still keeping it healthy like I am able to do when I make it home for lunch... Any and all advice on the best way to do these things and everything else that is part of the whole "commuting" experience is what I desperately need! What are those essential little goodies you found you couldn't live without? What tricks did you find that really helped you in the day to day grind? Etc...? Thanks in advance for any and all advice you are able to give! It may be the difference between my attempts actually sticking and my loving the commuting experience or the commuting attempt just fizzling for me after a few weeks... I can tell you now that sitting around the office in cold wet clothing with an inadequate piss poor lunch that leaves me flat for my evening training will definitely steer me back toward the gas guzzling vehicle option and put the "old school" Miyata back into retirement mode sitting around the house all day doing nothing but collecting dust! I really would love to avoid that... How do you all do it?