Commuting - Very Long Commute Club: Week 8

Since it is fairly late on a Sunday night and no VLC, I figured I'd start a thread.

So now that Father's Day is over here in the US, did anyone get any cool bike gear?

I got a nice handle bar bag. It is the Sunlite Bar Tender 4 and seems like it should be a good size for century rides or even as part of a touring load. It has a nice clear map/cue sheet pocket on top, which is bound to be better than my current system.

haha, we did it again!
Let's use this thread as the "official" week 8 thread. Maryland's topic is better than mine!

LOL! I'm starting to suspect you two are twins separated at birth. :D

I get cycling related gifts at every occasion not just father's day, mostly clothing like jerseys, shorts, etc.

Not twins, just men with empty lives and spare time on Sunday evenings!

It was a nice ride this morning, but you could already feel the temps and humidity riding. By this afternoon it should be mid 90s with humidity to match. I'd complain but then I remember Tibike is "riding across the desert on a bike with no name".

For Fathers day, my wife paid off my c/c that I had used to purchase the '72 Paramount... :-D

I got a set of Michelin Dynamic 700x25 tires and 4 inter tubes. and on sale too. Oh and a pair of bike shorts.

It was indeed hot and humid on the ride home, but not impossible. Best of all they have finished work on the MUP and reopened the final section this afternoon. I rode home on the bike superhighway tonight. It's an amazing improvement over what was there and I'm betting it will bring more traffic to the trail once people find out.

It was indeed hot and humid on the ride home, but not impossible. Best of all they have finished work on the MUP and reopened the final section this afternoon. I rode home on the bike superhighway tonight. It's an amazing improvement over what was there and I'm betting it will bring more traffic to the trail once people find out.
Yep hot in Northern Virginia (NOVA) also. I just hopped into the shower when I got home. Took my new bike for her maiden ride today - and used my new toy, a garmin 305 gps cyclometer.
I only got cards for fathers' day but performance had a 25% back sale so I picked up a bike workstand and four new 700c x 23 tires.

Well, it looks as though I'll be starting a new commute in a few weeks. 45 miles round trip with about 650 feet of climbing each way. It will be at least 4 days a week possibly 5, probably for the next 5 years. The first 2/3 is a breeze but the last 1/3 is in pretty hairy traffic, the last couple of miles will be dancing with cages in heavy traffic. Should be interesting.

I don't know what the facilities are like yet but I suspect I'll be hauling a full load every day - no onsite storage. At least I know I'll stay in shape. :D

Cyclaholic -- that sounds like one heck of a commute. Hopefully once you get there you will find some facilities to make it easier. You are right that it will keep you very fit and toned. I'm not sure I'd want to ride twice my current commute every day.

Got my replacement marathon plus tire (when changing rims I ripped the front one off it's bead) and a color shirt I never ever thought should be made but don't mind it so much after wearing it in today.
http://www.performancebike.com/product_images/250/10-2549-ORG-FRONT.jpg
Most people never notice when I get to work but two people said they were walking back to their desks on the third floor and noticed me down the street or across the parking lot. :o
This week I try my new commute on a half day. I'll ride 11 miles in. Then leave early and head the next 11-13 miles to the new jobsite find a place to lockup and turn around and go home 22+ miles. :( If I wasn't soo slow and didn't need to carry two full arkel panniers it would be :D

Wow, as a newbie, I am learning something. My commute is 50 mi r/t and I am finding out that that's some serious milage. Way cool.
Upside for me is that my ride is 90% paved trail (railroad grade) and the elevation change is less than 300 ft.
The ride takes me 1-1/2 hr each way. I leave around 6:30 Am, suffer some cold early on and then start heating up and need to peel off layers as the sun rises.
I love the ride, but hate waking up -- what else is new, I didn't like waking up when I drove either.
BTW: The ride home is always easier.

Wow, as a newbie, I am learning something. My commute is 50 mi r/t and I am finding out that that's some serious milage. Way cool.
Upside for me is that my ride is 90% paved trail (railroad grade) and the elevation change is less than 300 ft.
The ride takes me 1-1/2 hr each way. I leave around 6:30 Am, suffer some cold early on and then start heating up and need to peel off layers as the sun rises.
I love the ride, but hate waking up -- what else is new, I didn't like waking up when I drove either.
BTW: The ride home is always easier.

Hell yeah, that is most definitely a nice long commute. What do you ride? how much load do you carry? how do you hydrate?....and what did you get for father's day?:D

Welcome to the VLCC.

Wow, as a newbie, I am learning something. My commute is 50 mi r/t and I am finding out that that's some serious milage. Way cool.
Upside for me is that my ride is 90% paved trail (railroad grade) and the elevation change is less than 300 ft.
The ride takes me 1-1/2 hr each way. I leave around 6:30 Am, suffer some cold early on and then start heating up and need to peel off layers as the sun rises.
I love the ride, but hate waking up -- what else is new, I didn't like waking up when I drove either.
BTW: The ride home is always easier.


Whoa, how many stoplights/stop signs/etc. do you have? That's a nice avg speed for 25 miles. Most of our rails to trails around here are crushed limestone. Paved must be nice.

Baron -- welcome aboard. You do indeed have a very long commute. I'm with Cyclaholic, I'd like to hear more about your ride and how you handle it.

No ride this morning since we were juggling around to get some AC repairs done at the house and my son to summer camp. I'll be riding home tonight though to get back on the VLC.

The weather was just about perfect this morning. Just a tad under 60F when I took off, clear and with the sun starting to peek over the horizon. :)

As far as bike stuff for Father's Day, I ordered myself some things from Nashbar. Another rear blinky and another floor pump that I can keep at the office, also a Park multitool to replace some of the individual tools that I normally carry. When I started the bike-train-bike thing I quickly discovered that it would be easiest to have a dedicated set of certain things for each bike leg of the commute. I'm just now getting around to fixing that.

Most importantly, for Father's Day, I got me some -- first thing. That's always a good way to start a good day.
I ride a Cannondale racer; hydration is not a problem, I live in Ohio: no heat issues, I just fill two large H2O bottles; I haul very little, dropping clothes and stuff off by car once a week instead; and intersections totally suck! I cross at least a dozen, and over half of them are downright life-threatening, unless one is extremely patient which I am not.
Seriously, intersections are a commuting problem because of all those damn cars driving people into work. Thankfully, Ohio has laid down serious money and built bridges over/under some of the busiest roads, but there are still a few where the only way I can cross is if someone (a nice smiling person behind a windshield) lets me cut through.
When actually moving, I run at speeds of 17 to 22mph; and try to hold cadence of 85 to 95 rpm.
Food is my biggie. I eat myself out of house and home.

Is this thread still active? Hey everybody, just checking in. 49.4 miles RT, 1588' climbing, 90 minutes plus or minus 5 typically. My personal best is 1:14. It's mostly on four and six lane "red" roads and I usually get stopped at around 20 intersections. I generally get in about 7 one-ways per week. Just glad to be here.