Someone at work mentioned to me they were going to start riding to work…

He assured me all he would need was a "fixie" (a bike with no gears, sometimes no brakes) and shoulder bag.
"Mad bastard" I thought.
As someone who has commuted for ten years on a bicycle from Bondi Beach to the city it occurred to me that I probably knew more about this than he did. Then again there's no one way, it all depends on how far and the level of pain/danger you're willing to put up with.
When I started the commuting thing I was 38 years old with knees that were starting to hurt when I went running. Looking back I wish I wish someone had given me some tips before I started. As it was I found out all this stuff the hard way.