nebuchenezzar

Commuted home today from work. Very nice weather and enjoyed every bit of it.

I have two hills that are a bit challenging for me both are at the end of my ride. One on the way to work, and one right before I get to my house. I always have some mental defeat before I get to the hills, then struggle all the way up them. My method has always been shift to a granny gear and trudge up the hill. Today, I tried a different approach. As I approached the hill before my house, I said, "self, lets stand up, get out of the saddle and really push the peddles up the hill!" I must say that even though it was bigger effort then I'm used to, and my legs really burned, it worked quite well. No way I could have done that a few weeks ago. Its amazing how fast commuting tones the legs!

MIKEnDC

26F/-3C with light wind--pretty clear view of the waning moon, too. Supposed to be snow showers this morning changing to rain later (I packed along the rain pants ). I guess I beat the precip to work.

And funny, but I could have sworn I was leaving a few minutes late and dogging it the whole way in--yet I ended up getting to the front door a few minutes earlier than usual. I hope that's a good omen for the day--got a busy one on tap.

Big_e

It's dark as usual. I rode the Schwinn LeTour today. I wore a windbreaker and overheated. I had a quiet ride with nothing to report. Since I got to work extra fast I rode around and stopped at the donut shop.
Ernest

T-Hussy

Oooh, donuts. Wish I would have waken up early enough for some of that. Super nice in denver this morning. Also, found a new bike shop near my house on my ride home last night.

breakaway9

I drove today, which worked out well I had a dentist appointment first thing which I was going to ride to, but last night I got a call from someone interested in buying my car... I am really hoping to get rid of it today...

truman

Well, I farted around and missed the window of leaving in time to make my train. After thinking about it, I decided that making it to the next train wouldn't leave me too late, and I DID want to ride in, so I suited back up, got all my gear loaded, rolled out to the driveway - and saw my wife's car sitting n a flat rear tire. Once that was changed, it was too late for the second train, and I drove in - fail.

caloso

Awoke to a strange bright spot in the sky. It must be the sun. Streets were still wet so I was glad for my fenders. Arrived to find that the hot water in the shower room was off. Had a quick sink bath and shaved. Turned on my email to find the note from the administrative manager that the hot water was off. Thanks!

Doohickie

Busy day with errands to run so.... I drove.

HardyWeinberg

29F. No real ice on the road though. 7 yr old toughed it out, I thought he might bail. I took his blinky when we got to school, it's the only one left working in the household right now.

annajo

Today was my first commute.

I live in a sketchy neighborhood and have to ride down a busy road, so I was a little nervous. I headed out at 5 am to avoid traffic.

My ride was actually pretty smooth. There is one spot with highway on/off access ramps that made me nervous, but at that hour there weren't many cars on the road. The weather was chilly but not too bad, and I felt very energized and happy when I made it to work.

As a perk, I got there 30 minutes early, which never happens when my husband drives me.

caloso

Welcome, annajo! And congratulations on your first of many!

rumrunn6

A woman riding alone on deserted roadways through sketchy neighborhoods. HHmmm... I can see the headline now. Seriously, I don't like the sound of this at all. It is so easy to jump / ambush a cyclist especially when you know she's coming. I couldn't live with myself without saying something to caution you away from this plan. Congratulations on the ride in - we all know that wonderful sense of satisfaction and pride. Be careful.

apricissimus 

rumrunn6, you're just a nervous nelly.

rumrunn6

I'm a parent, isn't that apparent?

annajo

It's not *too* terribly sketchy... I've been riding in this neighborhood for a while now, so my commute today actually took me on my regular path, it just added 3 miles into a nicer area to my ride. The part that makes me a bit uncomfortable is that it's still a bit dark out at 5 am, but the strip that could be considered a "bad" area is really well lit.

I was definitely trying to pay attention to everything around me, and my husband had instructions to come check on me if I didn't call him from work by a certain time.

I've been looking at the map for a few weeks, but I have yet to find a route that seems like a better option, because the other roads around here either go through scary residential areas or lack adequate lighting and bike lanes.

I have a medical condition that stops me from holding a driver's license, so I can walk, bike or beg for rides.

rumrunn6

I'll bet I know why that sketchy area is well lit. Something must have happened there in the past. Good luck.

caloso

When I'm in a not so nice neighborhood, I try to keep my head up and my pace high. Awareness and velocity make strong juju.

habernac

had a glorious 2 hour ride yesterday. Loved almost every minute of it. A little frosty on the way in.

apricissimus 

An ambulance cut me off making an illegal right turn on the ride home this evening. This makes two near right hooks in two days! And an ambulance no less!

He had missed the turn off to get onto a bridge and made a hard right when the road intersected with the bridge a little further up. (This was at the BU Bridge for Boston folk.)

Edit: The ambulance did not have its lights or sirens on. If it did, I would have kept further back.

Hirohsima

Had a great commute yesterday. It was downpouring on my way in and on the way home. It was actually the most fun I have had on a commute. I crossed 2 flooded streets on my bike that had cars AND trucks turning around. I have to post a pic of what one of the streets looked like. Felt more like I was riding an MTB across a slow stream than riding on the street.

Big_e

The commute home was pretty uneventful inspite of the rush hour traffic. The Schwinn LeTour is plenty fast and I'm able to zip down the streets with little effort. I passed the house and rode around the park. Other than almost getting t-boned in the park, it was a quiet ride.
Ernest

Big_e

I actually enjoy riding in a downpour as long as it's not cold. Just wrap my clothes in a plastic bag, drop into my backpack and ride. I'll ride in the cold and in the rain but not in a cold rain. Slick and street type tires will have better traction in the rainy streets than mtb tires.
Ernest

ok_commuter

Awesome today. Effortless. Faster than driving.

Until today, I've skipped commuting on Wednesdays b/c I have to be home no later than 5:45 so my wife can get to her yoga class. I have a 4-5 meeting on Wednesday that usually goes the whole time, so I can't cut out a little early. So normally I drive...

But I've been noticing that I'm cutting it real close in the car, and stressed the whole time sitting there in traffic feeling powerless and worrying about being late getting home.

I rode today and left as soon as the meeting was over at 5. I stopped on the way home to grab a bottle of wine and still made it home by 5:35!

So now, I can officially commute 5 days a week if I want. All I have to do is HTFU and not get lazy sometimes.

I also used Bikely to find a cool new route to use on the way to work in the morning that adds 10 awesome, hilly, smooth-surfaced miles, resulting in a 15 mile, hour-long training ride on the way to work. Quick shower, coffee and a bite to eat at Mellow Johnny's and I can ride across downtown to my office and still beat most people in to the office.

I rode that crazy route Monday when our office was closed. I'll be trying it for the first time as a commute tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to use Google Maps so much this time!

buzzman

congrats on your commute. You know your neighborhood far better than any of us in these forums- I'm sure you're making a responsible decision on your commute. I love this thread and much prefer it when it stays positive and encouraging as opposed to negative, discouraging or condescending so I'll say no more except- Welcome to the wonderful world of bike commuting and I look forward to reading your updates on how your rides are going.


As for me. I rode in on my usual streets route. My ride home tonight was a ride along the river on the bike path with heavy wet snow flakes falling- the kind you stick your tongue out to eat- and my studded snow tires let me ride over the ice patches with all the grace of an Olympic skater. The solitude was refreshing and I saw an opossum, several geese and a fox.

bugly64

On the way home from work the chain jumped off when I started to go at a stop sign. Since I was clipped in I did the "panic spin" and then, fortunately, unclipped without falling. Also, I noticed a metalic grinding coming from my front Tektro CR720's cantilevers. On my routine stop at the post office I was delighted to find my Kool Stop Mountain Pads had arrived in the knick of time. Now I can do that all important nose wheelie.