Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2025:

It rained all day yesterday, and looks like it's going to rain all day today. Not heavy, just a constant drizzle. That's exactly what a drought-riddled region needs, so no complaints here. Better to get the same amount of rain evenly spread over a 48 hour period than have it all come down in 20 minutes. It gives the ground a lot more time to soak up the moisture.

This morning the temp was 48°F. With the rain, I decided to wear my jacket, as it absorbs less water than a sweatshirt would. I still wore shorts though. My knees were pretty chilly by the time I arrived at work, I think because of the rain/wind combination.

The reason I wore shorts is that all my cycling pants reached end of life over the winter (I had to milk them the last month or so as the crotch was completely gone in them.) I haven't purchased replacements yet. I really liked the pants I had, but unfortunately they no longer make them. I'll have to do some research and see if I can find some comparable alternatives before the weather gets cold next fall.

They shut down a section of the MUP for repaving yesterday. The roads around area they shut down do not have a good infrastructure to support pedestrians/cyclists. The city decided because of this lack of infrastructure there was no safe detour around the area of the MUP being repaved, so they just closed the MUP without providing an alternative route.

I knew about the closure, so I designed my own detour. I got off the MUP about a mile before it was shut down. I had to ride about three blocks up a very busy road and through an interstate interchange, during which I exercised extreme care as there are rarely bicycles/pedestrians in this area so drivers aren't expecting to encounter them as they fly on and off the interstate ramps.

Once I made it through that intersection, I got onto a quiet back street and followed that for about a mile. This stretch wasn't bad at all. Then on the other side of that I had to ride another mile down a fairly busy artery until I met back up with the MUP on the other side of the construction. This will probably be my new route for most of the summer while the MUP is closed. It was do-able but I can see why the city wouldn't want to tell inexperienced cyclists, rollerbladers and moms with strollers to use this route while the MUP is shut down.

Got to work a bit wet and chilly, but safe. A co-worker who also normally rides was there at his desk, but his bike wasn't outside on the rack. It turns out he got about a mile from home and broke a chain. He turned around and was walking his bike back, when it occurred to him that his e-bike doesn't know that there wasn't a chain connecting the rear wheel. He got on and just spun the pedals freely, and that told the motor that he was pedaling and gave him enough boost to slowly ride back home. Then he caught a ride from his neighbor who works near our office.

I released my latest bicycle commuting video: