How was the commute today? GLORIOUS! The ride in to work last night between about 5 and 6PM wasn't really anything special, but it was nice that it wasn't too cold and it wasn't raining. On Mondays I only have to work 8 hours, getting off at 0330, which compared to my usual 12 hour shifts in the ER is like a treat. This, combined with new pedals and switching out my saddle made for a great ride.

I knew my pedals were worn out, the bearings had been clicking for weeks, then I began to feel play in them, then the play got serious. I think that is why my knee hurt after riding about 30 miles just before Christmas. It started to feel like my feet were making little "s" motions on the pedals because there was so much play in them. I finally picked up a new pair of pedals and then finally got around to mounting them a few days ago. At the same time I pulled my saddle off to inspect it. I wasn't sure what was wrong with it but it felt like I was sitting on the seatpost the last three rides. Unfortunately back to back 12 hour shifts didn't even leave me enough time to sleep, much less investigative bike maintenance, so I just suffered through those rides. Once I had the saddle off the problem was quite obvious - I had snapped one of the chromoly rails on my saddle.

Riding on new pedals and a unbroken saddle was a revelation! I was getting discouraged as to how difficult my commute was feeling. I'm getting older and I still haven't lost any weight, and sometimes my hilly commute doesn't ever seem to get better, and now I was feeling tired and going slowly all the time. It's amazing how much power a shattered saddle and busted pedal sap out of you! My commute Friday and today was SO MUCH easier!

I have to say I'm appreciative for these forums for a number of reasons, and the thread tracking our commuting mileage has paid off some unexpected dividends. I was going to come up about 30 miles shy of an even 2,000 miles total for last year so I started taking different routes (other than the 3 or 4 each way I already use) to add a few more miles each day the last few weeks of the year in order to have a nice even 2K miles for 2012. Between my bike being a lot easier to ride all the sudden, leaving work at 4AM, and having recently explored some new areas I took a great new route home this morning.

I climbed to the crest of Capitol Hill and over it rather than bombing down it from work. This took me to a deserted 19th Avenue which gave me a mile of nearly flat road with almost now pot holes, ruts, seams, cracks or other rough irregularities that seem to plague almost every block of my commute and zero cars (4AM). From here the road enters Interlaken Park, which is basically a twisty mountain road. I was thankful for decent lights, because much of it is unlit, with no centerline, shoulder, or painted markings at all. Recently they've added some reflectors through a couple of the switchbacks, and there are a couple of houses and a school that have lights, but almost of all of it is nearly pitch black with just some background light from the city beyond showing through the trees. I startled some large animal as I entered the park. Both deer and coyote live in the area, could have easily been either, but I never caught a glimpse of it.

After I rocketed out of the park onto the road below I explored the neighborhood between the arterial I usually take into work and Lake Union's shore. I was hoping for a quiet bypass to my usual route, but it was very hilly and none of the roads really go through all the way. It was nice to explore a new neighborhood, especially an interesting one of nice houses, nice apartments, interesting businesses, dockside industry (ship repair and marinas) and houseboat communities. My climb home from there felt like nothing now that my commuter bike isn't half a wreck! It probably helped that I had dismounted my big saddlebag because the saddle support won't work with the saddle I'm using temporarily. On my way in I ran on Ortlieb off my front rack, but after ferrying in two days worth of clothes was able to stuff it in a locker and strap my toiletries bag with my tools in to my front deck and travel home very lightly loaded for once!

CHEERS!