Commuting - Bike to Work Day May 16

Da Rainman, who absolutely REVELS in his 22 mile round trip commute EVERY day will NOT be riding to work on this most holy day for bicycle comtmuters as I will be winging my way back home under the care of the good folks at Southwest Airlines. Oh, the bittersweet irony!

Our bike to work day is June 13th. I don't have any classes to teach on that day, but I'll ride down the street anyway and pretend so I can get some free eats... :)

Lots of people giving out food and coffee to bike commuters this morning... What a wonderful family we cyclists are!

I did my bit and commuted today, unfortunately my ride doesn't take me past any of the "commuter stations" that had been set up. I was going to take a detour past one but there was a imminent threat of heavy rain so I just came straight to work. Didn't see any more bikes (3) on the road then normal :( I think if the weather over the past few days had been better it would have made a difference...

I work at home, so my commute is the 12 steps from upstairs to my downstairs office. However, I'm going out for a spin in about a half hour. Woohoo!! :D

Originally posted by Bean Counter
I work at home, so my commute is the 12 steps from upstairs to my downstairs office. However, I'm going out for a spin in about a half hour. Woohoo!! :D

my bike goes down stairs, up stairs is a little tougher.

I had today off from work today as well but I still went out and took an hour ride which would equal my normal commuting ride time.

Zack

no school today (finals are over) so um no commuting :( but the last two weeks I commuted everyday :rolleyes:

I did manage to make the ride today! 15 miles each way. It was nice and cool in the morning, though I had to endure a 14 minute train stoppage that made me late for work. The afternoon ride home was in 90 plus Florida sunshine. What a great day!
Frank

I did manage to make the ride today! 15 miles each way. It was nice and cool in the morning, though I had to endure a 14 minute train stoppage that made me late for work. The afternoon ride home was in 90 plus Florida sunshine. What a great day!

Wow, that sounds like a great ride.

Proud of myself.. I commuted on this day of days. did not realize it so it was unintentional; and since recently injured in a bike crash- probably against my doctors wishes.
I just could not take it anymore. Been three weeks. Shoulder pain is less, but movement still restricted.
Took about 30 minutes longer than normal, because I had to be careful not to crash.

Originally posted by Mine'sAPint
I did my bit and commuted today, unfortunately my ride doesn't take me past any of the "commuter stations" that had been set up. I was going to take a detour past one but there was a imminent threat of heavy rain so I just came straight to work. Didn't see any more bikes (3) on the road then normal :( I think if the weather over the past few days had been better it would have made a difference...

Thats too bad I lucked out I went passed 3 of the stations Starbucks was handing out packets of there house blend (only in Seattle eh) lots of snacks and great people manning them though I didn't see that many more commuters than normal but at NSCC they asked me if I was one of the "hardcore ones" I did see a few more than normal in the PM I had to smile just a bit when that torrential down pour hit us on the way home being 40 degrees and all I hope they were all dressed for it. So Mine'sAPint a little off topic question for you. Whats your favorite local brew pub?

Originally posted by ngateguy
So Mine'sAPint a little off topic question for you. Whats your favorite local brew pub?

Hey, good topic :)

Kind of tricky to pick a favourite, I pretty much enjoy all fresh beer. The only place so far that I wasn't impressed by was Gordon Biersch, I think part of the problem there was the atmosphere.

One of my favourites is the McMenamins over on Queen Anne, I particularly enjoy the IPA and Terminator Stout. I used to live a few blocks from there and it kind of became the replacement for the English "local" :D Good times. Pike Brewery is another good place, their Kilt Lifter "wee heavy" is awesome.

Over here in Kirkland there's nothing within walking distance which is a shame. Of course there's Redhook pretty close by, always worth a trip to get the Blackhook porter on Nitro, not the best pub atmosphere though.

My favourite style of beer is a really hoppy IPA, I'm yet to perfect it myself but the last one I made was pretty damn good :D

Do you have any other recommendations of places I should check out ?

Cheers!

Originally posted by Mine'sAPint

Kind of tricky to pick a favourite, I pretty much enjoy all fresh beer. The only place so far that I wasn't impressed by was Gordon Biersch, I think part of the problem there was the atmosphere.

Yeah... Gordon Biersch has too much of that uber-yuppie atmosphere but the food is pretty good. I also like their Dunkles and the Marzen.


Originally posted by Mine'sAPint

One of my favourites is the McMenamins over on Queen Anne, I particularly enjoy the IPA and Terminator Stout. I used to live a few blocks from there and it kind of became the replacement for the English "local" :D Good times. Pike Brewery is another good place, their Kilt Lifter "wee heavy" is awesome.

I really liked McMenamins but it's a bit of a haul for me to get there. Same goes for Pikes. My wife also likes the fact that they serve Lindemans. If you're ever in the Chicago area, you should swing by Goose Island Brewpub on Clybourn. I haven't been to the Wrigleyville one though but it's probably just as good.


Originally posted by Mine'sAPint

Over here in Kirkland there's nothing within walking distance which is a shame. Of course there's Redhook pretty close by, always worth a trip to get the Blackhook porter on Nitro, not the best pub atmosphere though.


I agree that Redhook doesn't have that "cozy pub" feel but I do prefer it to a lot of the "refined brewpubs" like Gordon Biersch simply because it seems more laid-back. I like the fact that it can be reached easily from the Sammamish River Trail. I'm also a huge fan of the porter as well as the double black. And yes, I did purchase a redhook cycling jersey. :D[/B][/QUOTE]

Originally posted by Mine'sAPint
Hey, good topic :)
Do you have any other recommendations of places I should check out ?

Cheers!

Look ma I hijacked another thread I am going to the lounge and start another thread on this topic see you guys there



:beer:

Originally posted by RainmanP
Da Rainman, who absolutely REVELS in his 22 mile round trip commute EVERY day will NOT be riding to work on this most holy day for bicycle comtmuters as I will be winging my way back home under the care of the good folks at Southwest Airlines. Oh, the bittersweet irony!
You've earned your wings.

I don't know if May 16 is our bike-to-work day, but by a coincidence, I rode that day.

:D

Hmmm... I will certainly make sure I ride past every Starbucks on June 13th (our Bike to Work Day in Chicago). I love me some Starbucks! Mmmm mmmm good!

:D

I do not know how many non San Diegans heard about this, but a predawn construction crane accident brought our entire road system to a virtual halt on Wednesday, two days before official Bike to Work Day. (A crane collapsed, taking several 12KV and 138KV power lines with it. This "worst-case" incident took out the I-5 / I-805 merge and the Sorrento Valley commuter rail station for several hours.) I made it to work at 07:00, which is 25-30 minutes later than usual, but most other commuters were delayed for hours. Several of my friends greatly enjoyed cycling past the stationary cars and buses, which were averaging as little as 2 mph in some parts of the county.

On Friday morning, I rode commuter rail and jogged 4.5 miles / 7 km to get to work. As I passed one of the Bike-to-Work pit stops, I asked the operator, who turned out to have been a track star in high school, whether "run to work" counted. Assuring me that it did, she loaded me up with food, sun screen, coupons, and other Bike-to-Work giveaways.

Ha! I love zooming by people stuck in rush hour traffic and other traffic tie-ups. I often see them gazing longingly at my bike as I pass...

Did anyone take pictures of their Bike to Work Day?

Here in Ocala, FL, there were not any stations handing out goodies to cyclists. At least not any on the route I took! All I got out of the ride was the satisfaction of riding my bike for two days worth of workout in one day.
Frank

Originally posted by John E
On Friday morning, I rode commuter rail and jogged 4.5 miles / 7 km to get to work. As I passed one of the Bike-to-Work pit stops, I asked the operator, who turned out to have been a track star in high school, whether "run to work" counted. Assuring me that it did, she loaded me up with food, sun screen, coupons, and other Bike-to-Work giveaways.
Amen.

:angel:

(God bless the "brothers" and "sisters!")

:beer:

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Ha! I love zooming by people stuck in rush hour traffic and other traffic tie-ups. I often see them gazing longingly at my bike as I pass...

Bike envy.

:)

Originally posted by Pete Clark
Bike envy.

:)

Absolutely! I do a lot of travelling. I'm usually gone on average 1-2 days every week. At least if I was stuck in traffic locally and saw someone zoom past me on a bike, I could go hop on my own bike once I got home but if I'm out of town, I can only go back to a hotel room and sulk... or read BikeForums. :D

I'm at the point now where if I'm not riding, and I see someone ripping by on their bike, I gotta stop and stare- I can't help myself!

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Hmmm... I will certainly make sure I ride past every Starbucks on June 13th (our Bike to Work Day in Chicago). I love me some Starbucks! Mmmm mmmm good!

:D

A warning to all you Starbucks lovers out there. The free samples where at the bike stations and you got to brew it yourselves. Though since they are big supporters (at least here after all we put them on the map :) ) it never hurts to stop by and see what they have to offer

Ironically, the Friday (our local BTW Day) evening auto traffic was the worst I've seen in quite some time. I'm guessing (based on past driving experience) that I easily arrived home 15 minutes before I would have had I driven a car. I'm guessing the Bike to Work Day was not incentive enough for most people to brave the cold/wet weather that day.