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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.
 
#7,027 ·
Week 2 of getting back into commuting now that school is back in session. Had a guy on the sidewalk in front of me with ear buds in when I rang my bell and yelled out "on your left" because that section of my route is on a busy street.

The guy does not budge. I continue to ring and yell out to him. Nothing. I'm thinking on great the music is so loud he can't hear me.

I get right up on him and ask if he could please move over. He turns to me and says "Get on the road where you belong!"

My response was that I had every legal right to be on the sidewalk in Montgomery county MD. He continued to walk down the middle of the sidewalk, exchanged a few more colorful words as I rode past him.

While I was waiting at the crosswalk, like a pedestrian because I was not a vehicle, I noticed this guy further down the cross road jaywalking.

What a hypocritical dolt.

Anyway I hope he has a better day.

Anyone else have this occur to you?
 
#7,028 ·
Week 2 of getting back into commuting now that school is back in session. Had a guy on the sidewalk in front of me with ear buds in when I rang my bell and yelled out "on your left" because that section of my route is on a busy street.

The guy does not budge. I continue to ring and yell out to him. Nothing. I'm thinking on great the music is so loud he can't hear me.

I get right up on him and ask if he could please move over. He turns to me and says "Get on the road where you belong!"

My response was that I had every legal right to be on the sidewalk in Montgomery county MD. He continued to walk down the middle of the sidewalk, exchanged a few more colorful words as I rode past him.

While I was waiting at the crosswalk, like a pedestrian because I was not a vehicle, I noticed this guy further down the cross road jaywalking.

What a hypocritical dolt.

Anyway I hope he has a better day.

Anyone else have this occur to you?
I was under the impression bikes aren't allowed/supposed to be on sidewalks in most places. In cities they ticket you for it. Obviously your local regulations may vary.
 
#7,029 ·
I was hit by a storm yesterday. I rushed out of the office hoping I could beat the rain, but I barely made it down the street when I was hit by a wall of wind. There wasn't a whole lot of lightning and few trees, so I decided to go for it. It was a little work to fight against the wind, but I made it home, drenched but in one piece. It was kind of an exciting ride home.
 
#7,030 ·
Good commute this morning, went even farther around the local high school to avoid the maelstrom.

Was almost hit by a lady in a white Caravan who apparently couldn't see my day-glo yellow bike and white helmet right in front of her.

I've also had a number of people try to give me the right of way or slow down for me to enter traffic but all it does is back up traffic. I would much prefer it if they'd just go past me at the speed they normally travel so I can jump into the lane when the traffic is clear.

Also attempted to snap some photos but the camera on my phone is a piece of crap. This was the only salvageable photo and it's not good by any stretch.


Think I might attempt to lug my DSLR with me some morning and get some better photos.
 
#7,032 ·
KANGAROOS! That would be cool! Although folks I've met from "daaan unda" compare them to large rats. We've got a deer overpopulation problem that we're pretty sick of, so I sort of get that...everyone ELSE thinks the deer are great. But KANGAROOS! I would love to see those guys cruising around on my commute route. Too cool.

I got chased by a dog this morning. I yelled at it and the lady who was walking it yelled at it and it stopped.
 
#7,033 ·
I was under the impression bikes aren't allowed/supposed to be on sidewalks in most places. In cities they ticket you for it. Obviously your local regulations may vary.
Nope the local regs in MoCo MD are that in most jurisdictions (including the ones I ride through) a bike can ride on the sidewalk (loads of bike trails are multi use paths with sidewalks connecting them), with pedestrians having the right of way.
 
#7,034 ·
Also attempted to snap some photos but the camera on my phone is a piece of crap. This was the only salvageable photo and it's not good by any stretch.
Good or not good, I think it looks kind of neat. I used to enjoy taking low light pics hand held or just propped against a wall or phone pole- they came out obviously shaky, but I liked `em anyway.

We've got a deer overpopulation problem that we're pretty sick of, so I sort of get that...everyone ELSE thinks the deer are great.
Ha! Even though I knew what they were as soon as I saw the pic, it made me think of a bunch of deer out cleaning up dropped apples!

I got wind (a lot) and rain (a little) last night too- probably much less than sOck did, but even a little is welcome. Comming home was surprisingly muggy for these parts. And hot too, because I`ve been working 4 hours over each day this week, so not as nice at 11 AM as it is at 7.
 
#7,035 ·
I got wind (a lot) and rain (a little) last night too- probably much less than sOck did, but even a little is welcome. Comming home was surprisingly muggy for these parts. And hot too, because I`ve been working 4 hours over each day this week, so not as nice at 11 AM as it is at 7.
We are at 46 straight days without measureable precipitation here in the Seattle Area. The all-time record is 51 days, which will be tied next Tuesday of it stays dry. Forecast calls for a nice weekend and then a small chance of rain coming through starting on Monday. Unlike Rodar, I don't welcome any rain - I get my fill of it in the winter time and am enjoying basking in these sunny 75 degree, low humidity afternoons...
 
#7,037 ·
After being off the bike for a few months with a shoulder injury I returned to a nice sunny cycle to work with a 40K round trip. Even though I was surprised by how well I did, cardio wise, nothing can prepare your posterior for nearly 2hrs in the saddle after such a long lay off. ouch!!!
 
#7,039 ·
Welcome back JayCo. The human-bike interface is one of the hardest ones for me too. Even after thousands of miles - bike seats get uncomfortable.

I had an extra helping of pea soup for my commute. First ride on the new headset this morning since my last one developed a significant case of "index steering". No wonder, what a rusty mess inside the head tube. Those seals were doing a great job of keeping the water in. The bike hadn't been ridden in wet weather in a while but water came out when I disassembled the fork.
 
#7,040 ·
After being off the bike for a few months with a shoulder injury I returned to a nice sunny cycle to work with a 40K round trip. Even though I was surprised by how well I did, cardio wise, nothing can prepare your posterior for nearly 2hrs in the saddle after such a long lay off. ouch!!!
Getting back on the bike after an unwanted "medical leave" sure feels great, don`t it? It`s worth a little butt pain, IMO. Glad you`re pedalling again and good luck to you, your shoulder, and your behind!
 
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