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How was your commute today?

3M views 28K replies 753 participants last post by  cyclingdutchman 
#1 ·
Well how was it?

Mine was good... hadn't been able to ride at all for the 10 days leading up to today, so it was a bit harder to get into the groove.

Forgot my battery pack for my big light, so I had to ride the last 5 miles on pothole ridden bikelanes with a little flasher.

Got honked at when I was as far right as I could be without getting doored.

All in all, it was a good commute... I ride alongside two different freeways (on a bike path) and get to see the traffic backed up for miles... People feverishly trying to type out their morning emails on their blackberry or looking ragged from sitting in traffic. Then I break away from the bike path and the traffic, and it all looks like a rat race in my rearview mirror.
 
#3,561 ·
Last night my wife asked me to check tthe weather to see if it was safe to put the cloth diapers outside to dry, instead of running them through the dryer. The radar looked fine, so we put them outside. Of course it rained all night long. Whoops! Glad I put my fenders back on, otherwise I would have been a mess! There were giant puddles all over the MUP on the ride in this morning. So much for keeping my newly built wheels clean! But at least I got to try out the new brake pads (KS Salmon) in the wet.
 
#3,562 ·
Aaarggh! It must be Monday. I left a bit late but rode hard and 11 mi later was pleased to see 4 people waiting at the bus stop. But no, the driver had left early, stranding us. This is a "commuter' bus, so people really rely on it, so there is no excuse to leave before the scheduled departure time, partuclularly since the next bus doesn't come for an hour. Calls to dispatch resulted in arguing with someone unfamiliar with the schedule, and finally a supervisor coming to pick us up. But no, the bike would not fit in the small SUV hatch, even with the front wheel off. By this time I had wasted another 15 minutes at least, and finally just rode the rest of the way (another 11mi). After work I am riding to a friend's, no bus option that way, so will be another 13 or 18 mi.

At least it is a nice day, though the fog was thick enough to have to wipe off my glasses a few times to see. Only 48F when I left, but low 80's by after work.

Of course a couple dodos also cut me off after not stopping at stop signs. One realized his mistake when he then went to turn right almost immediately after cutting in front of me. He clearly remembered seeing me, since he stopped and waited for me to (cautiously) pass on his right before he turned, so he gets partial credit, maybe next time he will not cut someone off.
 
#3,563 ·
Wasn't all that enjoyable this morning. I had an encounter with an IDIOT coal truck driver. Instead of passing me while I’m hugging the while line on a straight stretch (with no cars coming) he decides to blow his horn nonstop until we get to a blind turn only to decide to pass then. Running me and the truck coming the other direction off the road. I show him a selected finger and get back on the road go around the turn then another driver from the same trucking company starts to do the same thing. This time I decide to take the lane and make him wait until I thought it was safe to pass. At least he was smart enough to wait until no cars are coming on a straight stretch to pass me.
BTW this happened just while I was cruising along about 20mph in a 25mph zone. Really? He couldn’t wait for a few hundred feet to pass or pass when he had a “safe” chance.
 
#3,566 ·
OK. First days back from vacation SUCK.

The ride in this morning was nice though. It was the first time using my new Timbuk2 panniers and they were great. Better than what I had previously. There was a bit of a headwind but I guess I should just be used to that by now.

Funny stuff when I got to work:

I ride up the walkway to our building towards the bike rack and there are a bunch of people working on this side of the building and a caution tape blocking the entry towards the bike rack. OK, I'll go around to the other side. I get to the other side and that entry is roped off too. Bike parking is indoors today :cool: The funny part was when I headed in to the break room to put my afternoon bottle in the fridge and someone has posted a bike commuter brochure on the wall. That's new, I'm one of maybe three people in the building who ride and of course it was funny since they had the bike racks inaccessible. It would be cool if more people started to ride; I have been trying to get bike lockers for some time but they just don't have a budget for bike lockers for the one weird guy who rides his bike instead of driving ;).

And now all I can think of is riding home tonight. The middle part of the day is going to suck :).
 
#3,567 ·
Quite a road ride for me yesterday morning. I`m not sure what my record time was before, but I must surely have beaten it this time. I did my 62 mle loop in 4:05 total, which gave me 16.0 MPH avg rolling speed with 16 minutes break time. I dunno what`s gotten into me- I never cared much before how long it took me, now I`m suddenly fixated on doing it faster. 16 MPH is NOT an average that I normally see for a ride farther than my local convenience store.
That's a long ways to keep that speed up. :thumbsup:
 
#3,568 ·
Glad I put my fenders back on, otherwise I would have been a mess!
Hope you had more diapers, otherwise JUNIOR`s going to be a mess :eek:

That sucks, WV. Putting a rider in danger is bad enough, but what do they think the horn is going to accomplish?

Thanks, Xplorer. I don`t know if it`s a passing phase with me or something that I`ll be able to cure myself of before I write a big fat check for a sportier bike. Time will tell.
 
#3,569 ·
¡that's rodar rapido!

hey guys...busy days... last week I just had that one day of bike commuting... had to travel to DF a couple of days...was nice to see a bunch of commuters near the office I was visiting...even a foldie, I think it was a Dahon....while there, the guy who commutes here with me, skype me to tell me his bike was stolen from the parking zone of one of our buildings...It sucks, mostly because I told him the day before I went to DF that that spot wasn't too safe and that he should keep the bike where we used to park... he is thinking on getting a new one... the chances to recover his bike around here are close to none...I'm having a lot of work these days...today I use our car....everything is ready to bike commute tomorrow..hopefully I'll do it the rest of the week.
 
#3,570 ·
Last night we did the family ride that the LBS hosts. I put the ibert seat on my pugsley and rode with my son as my wife followed on her bike. 12.5 miles on the road, on a fatbike, with an extra 28lbs up front is more tiring that I thought! Coupled with a late bedtime, I didn't want to get out of bed at all today. It was one of those "drinking coffee in the shower" mornings. Running late, still half awake, I looked at my Subaru and thought..."nah". Hopped on the Xtracycle and cruised in, hoping the sunshine and nice weather would make my morning go a bit better. So far so good, but I'd gladly take a nap at my desk if I could get away with it :)
 
#3,571 ·
20 years of biking and it finally happened a few days ago. I got nicked by a car. Thankfully nothing bad really but I have a few nice looking bruises plus what seems to be some bruised ribs also. The bike came out well, it looks like all I need is my rear wheel retrued and retensioned. The car has a nice little dent in it now. It was a girl turning right flat out not looking at the intersection, she was looking left. Lesson learned for me, never ever trust drivers. Thankfully a relatively painfree and cheap lesson for what could have been really bad. Be safe everyone.
 
#3,573 ·
More unstable weather today. Originally predicted rain starting around 10 AM with thunderstorms this afternoon. The last time I dared it to thunder/rain on me, mother nature responded with "Challenge Accepted" and then gave it her all. So today I decided to drive.

And then the rain got pushed out to this afternoon, probably until after I would have been home <sigh>. Has anyone seen summer?
 
#3,576 ·
The important of making eye contact with drivers can't be stressed enough sometimes. I'd get hit everyday if I didn't make sure that the cagers see me!
For some reason I often have problems making eye contact when I'm on the bike. I can't really describe it, but sometimes I just can't see into the car well enough to really see the driver. I can only compare it to driving, and if I'm at a 4-way stop in a car then I never have a problem getting a quick eye-lock with the other drivers. But on a bike it's sometimes more like a best-guest.

I'm going to have to pay more attention to figure out exactly what's going on. I'm higher up so I get more glare off their windshield? The sunglasses that I ride with aren't polarizing? I'm further forward relative to the stopline so they are hidden behind their front pillar? I look around a lot more when I'm riding, instead of focusing on the other drivers? And now I'm sure I sound crazy.

In other news, I saw my first mountain unicycle on the weekend. I was climbing some gravel doubletrack and there was a rider coming downhill towards me who looked sort of...off. He was all arms and knees flailing everywhere, and it took me a few seconds to figure out what I was seeing. Once I clued it, it was pretty impressive to watch.

Glad you're okay, Toff.
 
#3,577 ·
Today (also the day I joined this wonderful forum) was the 2nd time I've taken a spill in the city. I just had to have my porchetta sandwich and hit the road during my lunch break AND shortly after an intense rain fall. My tires are slicks and I hit the brakes on a street with construction, spun out and took out three pylons and rolled into a ditch. Thankfully, I spun out towards the road and not in front of traffic.

A few cuts on my ankle and hands a few more scratches to my bike. But I still got to my pork sandwich and it was damn well worth it the end. I'll just be a little bit more mindful after it rains.
 
#3,578 ·
I`ve never seen offroad unicycling except on YouTube. It does look awfully impressive.

The bike came out well, it looks like all I need is my rear wheel retrued and retensioned. The car has a nice little dent in it now.
Bike okay, car dented. Pretty good deal except for the bruises :D

Welcome, Poundcake. Sounds like a rough lunch break- hope it goes better tomorrow.
 
#3,580 ·
This morning right off I had a black cat cross my path - and it didn't race out of the road like most cats, it careened downhill away from me at a diagonal in the opposing lane, freaking out at this bike in hot pursuit, until it finally got out of the road. Ironically, about 10 miles later, another animal crossed my path - this time a fieldmouse!

On the way home, s l o w l y up my hill, a pickup truck stopped way back at a sidestreet stop sign, the "I see you & shall let you pass" signal. And sure enough he did, adding a not-unfriendly "that looks like hard work" to which I could only nod twice & hear his fading laughter in reply. Broke into the 6.0 mph avg mark on the 3.5 mi trip uphill. "Harley" the giant rottweiller who amazingly put on the brakes at the last second and barely avoided crashing into my front wheel last year as I sped by downhill, obeyed his mistress and stayed in the yard tonight.

Martin, too bad its been so busy for you, hope it lets up soon. Too bad about your co-commuter's bike too!
 
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