Commuting - I did it.

First commute to work today on my bike. 10 miles one way. It was fun. We'll see how the 10 miles home into the wind goes.

Nice work :) What kind of bike and terrain? Keep it up!

Wind can suck out your spirit. Someone here finally gave me an attitude adjustment; think of it as extra training, an adversary to overcome. I actually growl at the wind sometimes in the winter when it's really fighting me and I have to psyche up to attack it.

Congrats! Keep it up and you'll never want to drive in again...

Welcome to the Happy Healthy Commuting Mother F*ckers (HHCMF) club! We take great pride in riding the long way to/from work, eating donuts and flaunting our healthy, muscular bodies to our cow-orkers who are too lazy to walk and instead roll themselves around on their chairs to/from the snack machine. Keep up the good work!

Nice work :) What kind of bike and terrain? Keep it up!

Maroon Nishiki Rally, 85 I think. Part suburban business, part semi-busy road through orange, lemon, and avocado groves. Pretty flat, pretty easy, only a little dangerous from motor vehicle traffic. Every once in a while someone gets hit on the road through the fruit trees.

Wind can suck out your spirit. Someone here finally gave me an attitude adjustment; think of it as extra training, an adversary to overcome. I actually growl at the wind sometimes in the winter when it's really fighting me and I have to psyche up to attack it.

Hills and wind are just good opportunities for meditation. You go slow and it's easy to just center on your breathing. :D The miles take care of themselves. Best of all of course is a hill with a headwind. :rolleyes:

Maroon Nishiki Rally, 85 I think. Part suburban business, part semi-busy road through orange, lemon, and avocado groves. Pretty flat, pretty easy, only a little dangerous from motor vehicle traffic. Every once in a while someone gets hit on the road through the fruit trees.
Very nice! The mid-80s Nishikis are great bikes. I got my girlfriend a Nishiki Sport from that era, and it's been a really reliable commuter road bike for her.

Are you in Orange County? I lived there when I was little and vaguely remember going orange picking...

Very nice! The mid-80s Nishikis are great bikes. I got my girlfriend a Nishiki Sport from that era, and it's been a really reliable commuter road bike for her.

Are you in Orange County? I lived there when I was little and vaguely remember going orange picking...

I've been pleased with the Nishiki, especially since I picked it up cheap. Someone brought it in to a bike shop for repairs and never picked it up, so they pretty much gave it to me.

I'm in Ventura County, couple hours north of orange county. Pretty area, but a fire out East is being blown in my direction, so the sky is yellow and I'll be breathing in a little ash on the way home. Builds character, right?

First commute to work today on my bike. 10 miles one way. It was fun. We'll see how the 10 miles home into the wind goes.
It doesn't count until you get home.




No, just kidding, congrats.

flaunting our healthy, muscular bodies to our cow-orkers
Good one!

nice. it's always cool to know that somewhere there is someone else commuting. i really don't see anyone else on my rides to/from work.
...and by 'anyone' i mean people on bikes on the right side of the road, not on sidewalks, etc. :)

So the way home went fine, I conquered the wind. This morning was very misty, I had droplets hanging from my eyelashes. Then I went to stop at a light, and found that my rims were so wet the brakes didn't work. Kind of a nasty surprise.

So the way home went fine, I conquered the wind. This morning was very misty, I had droplets hanging from my eyelashes. Then I went to stop at a light, and found that my rims were so wet the brakes didn't work. Kind of a nasty surprise.
kwartz, you may want to adjust your brakes for greater mechanical advantage, so that you can squeeze real hard in rain. Also, if your pads are old, I highly recommend replacing them with KoolStop salmon-colored pads, which have top notch stopping power and last a long time... they cost $10-20 for a full set.

Also for stopping in the rain, brake early and lightly at first. The pads dry the rim and that allows them to grip.

Wind can suck out your spirit. Someone here finally gave me an attitude adjustment; think of it as extra training, an adversary to overcome. I actually growl at the wind sometimes in the winter when it's really fighting me and I have to psyche up to attack it.

Heh, I thought my calling the wind/hills a hooker (or some other such expletive) as I crank it out was odd :)

Good for you, OP, it's tough to get into it initially, but you'll be surprised at how fast the fitness comes in. I have a ~18 mile round trip (though still nursing an injury :() and I love it.

Also for stopping in the rain, brake early and lightly at first. The pads dry the rim and that allows them to grip.
Thanks cooker and moxfyre for the advice.

Wind can suck out your spirit.
When that happens, sometimes you have to ride back the next day and look for it.

:D