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2016! how was your commute today?

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2016! how was your commute today?

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Old 11-16-16 | 10:58 AM
  #3001  
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From: south Puget Sound
Drove. There was a big accident on the fwy a couple hrs before I left, wound up taking longer than biking would have.
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Old 11-16-16 | 04:07 PM
  #3002  
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From: Reykjavík

Bikes: Trek Crossrip 2 2017, Cube Cruve Pro 2015 and Berlín Dutch Bike 3 speed 2014

My commute yesterday was really interesting in Reykjavík in a windy snow storm.
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Old 11-16-16 | 07:11 PM
  #3003  
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From: 25 miles northwest of Boston

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Brrr!
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Old 11-17-16 | 06:06 AM
  #3004  
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From: Alexandria, VA
Originally Posted by mgw4jc
It's because you ride so fast you're melting rubber
Impossible!
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Old 11-17-16 | 07:27 AM
  #3005  
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From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

My normal route is about 13 miles and takes between 45 to 50 minutes. Yesterday I had to book it home to help get a child to ballet lesson on time. I decided to take the less desirable, but shorter route. This route takes through one little town that has 3 stop lights that get somewhat congested. I got caught at all 3 of them, for a total stop time of about a minute, 40 seconds (according to my GPS).

The 10.4 mile route took me 33:13 for an average of 18.8mph. The short route is flatter too. Average moving speed was 19.8mph. I was intentionally riding faster, but it's good to know that if I'm ever 10 or 15 minutes late, this shorter route will still get me to work. Oh, and she got to ballet and into class a little late, but still okay.

Nice ride this morning, though a little colder than I expected. I may have opted for warmer socks as my toes got cold in the last couple of miles. But we're supposed to hit 70F this afternoon.

We are having air quality issues here because of the wildfires. The news says it is Code Orange. It has been hazy and I can smell it a bit, but I don't feel like its affecting my breathing, so I'll keep riding.
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Old 11-17-16 | 07:37 AM
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From: Kansas City, KS
Warm and wind gusts up to 30+ mph...
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Old 11-17-16 | 08:18 AM
  #3007  
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From: Indianapolis

Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral

Originally Posted by esmith2039
Warm and wind gusts up to 30+ mph...
Uneventful, pleasant 40F but we're supposed to get your weather this afternoon. Looking forward to 70 and 30mph tailwind!
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Old 11-17-16 | 09:04 AM
  #3008  
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From: Raleigh, NC

Bikes: Waterford RST-22, Bob Jackson World Tour, Ritchey Breakaway Cross, Soma Saga, De Bernardi SL, Specialized Sequoia

Great ride to work this morning with milder temperatures and clear skies. So far, the smoke from the Southeastern wildfires has not reached our area, at least not at levels that are considered unhealthy. However, that could change over the next few days as winds are expected to shift. Hopefully, I'll be able to ride the rest of the work week.
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Old 11-17-16 | 09:55 AM
  #3009  
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Originally Posted by mgw4jc
It's because you ride so fast you're melting rubber
ha! reminds me I used to say some mornings, my commute in was so fast, I thought my tires would burst into flames
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Old 11-17-16 | 10:43 AM
  #3010  
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From: south Puget Sound
38F and clammy, but sunny! No mountain though (at the usual mountain-viewing spot). Little spike buck on the trail though.

Kept w/ shorts and fingerless gloves but went for long sleeves under the coat. I would say I was as far from optimum on the warm side as I was on the cold side w/ short sleeves under the coat earlier in the week.
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Old 11-17-16 | 11:09 AM
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From: Thornton, CO

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Was nice this morning at 49F give or take. I pushed it a bit and dressed for 50s F but didn't feel too cold after I warmed up on the hill. Later in Central Park I came up on a guy that looked like a Pro,1,2 type rider on Harlem Meer. Kept up the pace on the hill, downhill and slight upgrade after that. He then just speeds up and walks away from me. I decided to follow but he dropped me like a bad habit. Strong rider he was and made a good rabbit. It was a nice impromptu workout in a fairly large gear and in the drops. Looking forward to the ride home at 60F. Yeeeah baby!
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Old 11-17-16 | 11:20 AM
  #3012  
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From: Alpharetta, GA

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Last night lighting the way on the Greenway for a road biker who was out too late, I felt bad about turning off at my exit. But also relieved because it seemed like he was all over the place behind me, pulling up beside me a few times, and it was making me nervous. It might not have been that bad and just seemed like it because I couldn't see him or hear him and he never said anything. I slowed down to make it easier on him but then I sensed him yo-yo'ing back there, which felt a little creepy.

To me it seems to work a lot better when I stay behind someone and turn it up to bright.
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Old 11-17-16 | 03:10 PM
  #3013  
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From: Denver, CO

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Oh man, this morning was beautiful, 40F, cloudy, dry.

Except now it's been snowing! I'm sure the roads are just wet, and it probably won't even be icy for my midafternoon bike ride back to my car. It's exciting that we finally have gotten some snow. Usually we always have snow by Halloween in Denver, it's concerning it happened so late.
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Old 11-17-16 | 07:31 PM
  #3014  
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From: Alexandria VA

Bikes: 2015 Surly Disc Trucker & 2011 Trek 7.3fx

Was hovering around 42F and clear this morning; was a beautiful ride in.

The ride home was equally as beautiful, if a bit warmer.

Was taken aback a bit by an oncoming cyclist on a multi-use path who shouted at me to dim my light as he passed. I recently put on a dyno/Supernova front light and I thought I had it reasonably adjusted so as not to cause temporary blindness to oncoming traffic. I tested it using my spouse as a potential oncoming victim and after some adjustments I thought we had it setup OK.

Luckily, I left enough room in the nut holding the mounting bracket on to be able to move it with a modicum of effort. I reached down and pushed the light down ever so slightly. Hopefully this will be the last of complaints.

Sorry, oncoming cyclist. I really am sensitive to this and hope I have it right from here on out.
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Old 11-18-16 | 06:46 AM
  #3015  
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From: Kansas City, KS
Originally Posted by arsprod
Uneventful, pleasant 40F but we're supposed to get your weather this afternoon. Looking forward to 70 and 30mph tailwind!
Must of not made it there yet. Although it switched to NW... 15mph without even pedaling! The bad news the ride on the way home will not be fun.
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Old 11-18-16 | 08:00 AM
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From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

A nice ride this morning with a layover at the gym.

A couple of mornings recently I've had to dodge some sprinklers. One was spraying about 3/4s of the road. It's just in a neighborhood with light traffic, so I crossed over to avoid it, but shouldn't they aim that a bit better?
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Old 11-18-16 | 08:55 AM
  #3017  
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From: Indianapolis

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Originally Posted by esmith2039
Must of not made it there yet. Although it switched to NW... 15mph without even pedaling! The bad news the ride on the way home will not be fun.
You're right, supposed to be here tonight and tomorrow!
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Old 11-18-16 | 08:56 AM
  #3018  
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From: Sioux Falls, SD

Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk

Well, the forecasters were actually correct for a change. Woke up this morning to a blizzard. 31 degrees, about 2" of snow on the ground, and 40+ mph winds. Current predictions are that we'll get 5"-7" more before it stops this afternoon. Broke out my winter bike for it's inaugural commute after completely rebuilding it. Finished the rebuild on Monday, so I'm glad I didn't procrastinate much longer than I did.

The 2" of snow wasn't too bad. Before it started snowing it had rained for about 6 hours so there was a good layer of moisture underneath; made for some slick spots. Because of the wind there were spots where the snow wasn't deep, and other areas where it had drifted to about 6". Rode the MUP so I didn't have much for tire tracks to follow.

Made it to work without too much trouble. The winter tires and the snow slowed me down, but the biggest issue was the wind which I had to ride straight into. I averaged 6 mph for the whole commute. By a point of reference, when go out running I average almost 7 mph. So I was crazy slow. But my heart was pounding pretty good when I finally arrived at the office and I had a good layer of sweat under my jacket. Glad I dressed fairly light because I was pretty warm the whole ride.
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Old 11-18-16 | 10:33 AM
  #3019  
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From: Raleigh, NC

Bikes: Waterford RST-22, Bob Jackson World Tour, Ritchey Breakaway Cross, Soma Saga, De Bernardi SL, Specialized Sequoia

My commute was the exact opposite of @Tundra_Man. Ideal weather, sunny skies, very little wind, cool but not cold temperatures. High is supposed to reach mid-70s this afternoon. Perhaps I should feel guilty, but I don't. We suffer here in the summer.
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Old 11-18-16 | 10:45 AM
  #3020  
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From: south Puget Sound
35F and gray. Mountain was out, though! Dressed same as yesterday.
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Old 11-18-16 | 12:56 PM
  #3021  
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Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Monday, on the way into work, I broke a spoke in my front wheel. It put the wheel out of true, so I had to open the front brake. I had to be cautious with just my rear brake on the way home. It was just a little nerve wracking.

Yesterday, I bought a replacement spoke for the one that broke on Monday. I bought it at the LBS near work. At night, I put it in and got the front wheel back together and re-engaged my front brake.

I didn't ride in because I'm singing in a concert tonight in Brooklyn, and I don't want to take the extra hour riding there does compared with taking the subway.

I placed an order from my spoke supplier, since he custom cuts them and charges a good rate for high quality spokes. I ordered 32 spokes so I can completely rebuild my wheel. It's time, since I expect these spokes will keep breaking.
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Old 11-18-16 | 01:00 PM
  #3022  
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[MENTION=366933]mgw4jc[/MENTION], you're fast. I've never achieved speeds anywhere near that fast on my commute.

And [MENTION=175954]Tundra_Man[/MENTION], you're tough, as your name implies.
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Old 11-18-16 | 04:46 PM
  #3023  
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From: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Bikes: Trek Fuel EX8, Caad10, Marin BearValley, WTP BMX, Norco Tandem

Monday was a holiday so I went to the bike co-op and installed a new rear wheel, cassette, chain rings and chain. Boom.
Making my bike great again!


Absolutely lashed with rain on Wednesday night. Helmet-sweat-salt residue from the previous commutes ran down into my eyes, so I finally totally washed my poor helmet in dish soap/warm water. Dried it in front the fireplace and now instead of being black, it's grey.
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Old 11-18-16 | 08:23 PM
  #3024  
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From: Ashtabula, Ohio

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One of my riding friends who joins me on my hosted weekly rides had issues with her gears and wanted more comfortable bars. I worked on her bike over the weekend and worked on it through the week after work. I rode this cheap bike to work and back last 2 days and was impressed with my work regardless of the shape of the frame...............




Build thread...................



Another bike rebuild
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Old 11-21-16 | 05:33 AM
  #3025  
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Looking out the window at the icy roads, snow, 60kph winds...yea, i'm taking the subway..
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