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2015!! How was your commute today?

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2015!! How was your commute today?

Old 11-09-15, 08:41 AM
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Still raining, cold. The taillight was out when I was ready to leave; swapped batteries, still out. I just realized that when I grabbed my spare saddle bag, I didn't put tire levers in it and it has only glue-less patches, probably wet and useless, but I do have a tube and pump at least. Normal Monday I guess.
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Old 11-09-15, 11:07 AM
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55 degree this AM.
Used my brief case as a messenger bag (small bag on the main bag has my bike tools)

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Old 11-09-15, 12:35 PM
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Rode in, forgot work pants. Thought I had everything I needed already at the office. Rode him before lunch and cleaned up. Drove to work. In reality I exercised, not commuted. In the end anyways. 25+ miles total.
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Old 11-09-15, 01:34 PM
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Another unseasonably warm day, but I'll take it. My 650B-converted Bianchi really felt nice riding in. I'm much happier with that bike now.
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Old 11-09-15, 03:32 PM
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Not going to lie it was a bit nippy this morning.. even worse having to carry everything home at night. Full fledge winter will be here in less than a month I'd bet.
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Old 11-09-15, 03:46 PM
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@mgw4jc Thanks.

Today on the spin bike was even better though. I do not know if the spin bikes vary, but I was spinning at a higher rpm in a higher gear than on Thursday. It also may have been a result of more sleep. But regardless this morning I was spinning at 70-75 rpm for about ten minutes and went about 3.5 km. But my pulse at 6 minutes was about 160 and my legs were tired and felt like jelly right after getting off at 10 mintues.

My story of recovery was the featured story for the hospital's annual fundraising gala this weekend. They made a video and used it to solicit donations for a new OR in the hospital. I also got to stand up and say a few words in front of the 1,000+ people present; that was easier than teaching a class of tenth graders. Gala's aren't my typical thing but we had a nice time and met some nice people. Ultimately the night raised 3.3 million, well over their 2 million goal; thanks to one $1 million dollar donation from a wealthy family the hospital had helped.
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Old 11-09-15, 03:54 PM
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Crazy pea soup fog on the road I took out to work, but when I cut N one block to go back on the next road another block to my office, it was like 20' higher in elevation and blinding sunshine.

People on the foggy road were infuriating for driving their fog colored cars with no lights whatsoever. I HATE that.
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Old 11-09-15, 04:39 PM
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Weird weather, 31F and sunny when I left this morning - I'm on the way home now and it's low 50's and raining... and dark
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Old 11-10-15, 06:08 AM
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Misty and warmer, it was a pretty nice morning to ride in. I felt better after a sluggish Monday. Full fenders are convenient to keeping the schmutz off of the bike and lower extremities. :/
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Old 11-10-15, 06:09 AM
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A very nice uneventful commute in today. The temp was 34f degrees when I left the house. I have been taking a new route for the last few days. It makes the commute more enjoyable!
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Old 11-10-15, 07:28 AM
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Yesterday's rain kept up until about 9pm. And the high temperature was only about 47F. I'm kinda glad I didn't ride.

But today is beautiful. Still some wet roads, but 50 degrees and I saw a sunrise! We haven't had a visible one in more than a week here. We should be close to 70 this afternoon.
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Old 11-10-15, 07:59 AM
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A chilly, wet, humid 41F, but the rain has stopped and it's supposed to stay dry for the rest of the day. Happen to hear prediction of 30mph again later this week - wind is evil
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Old 11-10-15, 08:14 AM
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First sub - 30 degree ride since March. It was 25 degrees this morning, no wind and sun was just rising. Finally got it right with the layers of clothing. The ride home at 5 will be in the dark. I kinda like that now.
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Old 11-10-15, 08:48 AM
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A little warmer than yesterday (38F), and light winds. Although a headwind did start to pick up before I made it to the office. Should, hopefully, turn into a good tailwind for the ride home.

Tomorrow they are calling for a good chance of severe weather. Strong thunderstorms and high winds... with sustained winds around 30-mph gusting to "you've got to be kidding".
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Old 11-10-15, 09:05 AM
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Fog, holy crap the dense fog. Visibility down to barely 100' in some places. And yet I saw MANY motorists, as much as 1/3 of all motorists encountered on my 15 mile commute, driving with NO LIGHTS on at all!!! Absolutely incredible to me. Do people not THINK as they roll out of the driveway in the morning?

Had mostly no problems except the @$$hole riding a couple feet off my rear tire as I was climbing a hill. The fog and oncoming cars with no headlights made it worse because he couldn't really see very well to pass. But he passed anyway. Oncoming traffic had to slow down. I yelled some obscenities. And then life went on.

*edit* fog looked about like this (Google search image from India):


Last edited by PatrickGSR94; 11-10-15 at 10:03 AM.
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Old 11-10-15, 09:17 AM
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Consecutive commute #136 :

41 degrees this morning with a 15-20 mph headwind. Dropped down a gear lower from usual to fight the breeze. Still wearing shorts.

A couple weeks ago I lost my wedding ring while doing some yardwork. One of the owners of the company I work for had a metal detector that he let me use to find it. I hadn't gotten around to returning it yet. Today another guy in the office wanted to borrow it to search for something he lost in his yard, so he asked if I would bring it in to work today.

Well, I didn't want to drive my truck (and wreck my streak) for something as trivial as hauling a metal detector, so I figured out a way to strap it onto the bike. I used velcro straps and a bungee cord and strapped it on to the frame, going the same direction as the top tube. It was about 40" long. I attached the "brain" end of it to my rear rack, and had the round "detecting" end up in front of the stem. I did a little testing to make sure it didn't interfere with my cables or my ability to turn, then off I went. It rode there surprisingly solid, not bouncing around at all. I did smack it a few times with my knee when I stood up to climb/accelerate, but for the most part hardly noticed it was there.

When I arrived at work and handed it to my co-worker he said, "How in the world did you haul this on your bike?"

My response was, "You just have to have enough 'want to.'"
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Old 11-10-15, 09:34 AM
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Flatted just as I rolled into the office parking lot. If you're going to get a flat, that's the way to do it. Must have been a little staple because there were two tiny holes close together. One patch did the trick.
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Old 11-10-15, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by IrishBrewer
Flatted just as I rolled into the office parking lot. If you're going to get a flat, that's the way to do it. Must have been a little staple because there were two tiny holes close together. One patch did the trick.
Two tiny holes close together usually indicates a pinch flat. Can be caused by the tire rolling over something with a sharp-ish edge with not enough tire pressure, like the lip of a driveway, etc.
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Old 11-10-15, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
Two tiny holes close together usually indicates a pinch flat. Can be caused by the tire rolling over something with a sharp-ish edge with not enough tire pressure, like the lip of a driveway, etc.
Not a pinch flat, I was running at 120 psi and just before it went flat, I could hear something stuck to the tire as it rolled.
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Old 11-10-15, 10:49 AM
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Brisk, baby. 35F. Not as foggy. Dry layer of fallen leaves on top of the 1" thick paste that built up over the weekend.
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Old 11-10-15, 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
I used velcro straps and a bungee cord and strapped it on to the frame, going the same direction as the top tube.
I rode to floor hockey once with my stick attached like that. Probably lighter than a metal detector, but it worked well!

Chilly this morning at -7C/19F, but the afternoon will be above freezing, so that's nice. Roads were bare and dry, so I still rode my fixie, even managed to do the whole trip without touching my brake lever (i.e., leg braking only).
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Old 11-10-15, 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by IrishBrewer
Not a pinch flat, I was running at 120 psi and just before it went flat, I could hear something stuck to the tire as it rolled.
huh, that's weird that a staple would be able to point upwards to make it into a tire.
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Old 11-10-15, 11:50 AM
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Light mist this morning for the ride in. Followed an Amish buggy for about a mile. I wasn't in any hurry to pass him. It's a stretch of road that cars fly past, so I liked having a larger object get their attention.
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Old 11-10-15, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
huh, that's weird that a staple would be able to point upwards to make it into a tire.
It was likely still attached to something (i.e., piece of strapping, cardboard) which would explain why I was hearing something flapping around just before I lost air pressure. I tried to find the puncture hole in the tire where it should have been but never did so whatever it was was like a needle.
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Old 11-10-15, 12:42 PM
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About 33 degrees F., dark, and foggy. It wasn't foggy at my house but as I rode down into the valley it got worse. I wished I had worn my contacts, as the fog kept beading onto my glasses and I had to try to wipe them off. I'm hoping for at least a half hour of riding tonight on the way home, before dark.
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