Biking to work in Tehran

And how I survived heavy traffic stress.

I had to commute about 15 Km between my home and work, it’s taking 20 mins in weekends but in usual days it take 1 hour and 20 mins. (As I have to go and come back home it becomes 2:40 hours) I tried to make it better and I have some successful stories worth sharing.

I tried driving by my self every day, it was tiresome and tedious to drive a car for an average speed of 10 Km/h.

My home and work is not located near a any subway stations and there is no way to make it by bus using at least 4 different bus lines, so these are out of option.

I tried shared taxi (as it’s most usual transport in Tehran) I had better results in simplicity, still taking more than 1:30 hour but I was able to read books or even sleep a bit in taxi. I had to take 2 taxi in highway sides, so it was dangerous and there is not a fixed schedule for taxi stations so you may end up waiting a long time for a taxi.

Obviously best option 😁, but I have to stick to other dude plans.

I tried all above in lighter traffic hours, (going 6:00 AM in the morning and returning in 3:30 PM) results was way better, but I feel tired in 11:00 AM and can’t stay at work more than 3:30 PM.
And generally we cannot do remote work more than 1–2 days of week.

My first experience was on a Friday morning of last Summer, I wanted to see if I’m capable. Fortunately it was a success and took 80 minutes to go and 40 minutes back home.

First thing is that I am not an athlete, didn’t do much workout in 3 year and I have hypothyroidism.

And I have 26", 21 speed budget bicycle.

Now after few weeks of cycling 2 / 3 times a week, my body looks more athletic and my hypothyroidism symptoms went away.

Tehran is a steep city, there is a 1 Km altitude difference between south and north of Tehran. I had to gain 400 m elevation gain and 15 Km route in the morning and above 100 m elevation gain and 15 Km in return to home route.

There are no cycling routes in Tehran and existing ones are not maintained, most of them are blocked in many ways, all useless.

And another problem is there is no parking spot for bikes in the city, and no security so I have to chain the bicycle and keep the saddle and lights in with me in my bag.

Actually I was more tired in the mornings that I have to wake in 6 AM or drive/sitting in car for more than hour with average speed of 10 Km/h. However I cycle very slowly (9 Km/h average speed), I look into it as workout and it makes me feel more alive during day.

As I have to go uphill I sweat a lot, These are my things to avoid being smelly at work:

Shower before or after sleep in home.

Things in work (mostly in men’s room 😃 ):

Actually I think that I wear too much! I overheat in cool days.

It’s important to keep knees and hands warm so I wear thick pants and gloves. Also my doctor advised to keep nose and ears away from wind, so I use neck protectors, hats or head bands.

These are my thoughts and experiences and things to motivate me change my life style.

If you find it useful or had any opinions or suggestions for me or if just wanted to share an experience, You are highly welcome to leave a comment.

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