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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 12-05-16 | 05:01 AM
  #3126  
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From: Spijkenisse, Netherlands

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It was clear with almost no wind but at 26 degrees fahrenheit (-3 celcius) it was pretty chilly.
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Old 12-05-16 | 07:36 AM
  #3127  
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From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

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Lotsa rain yesterday and overnight, but stopped before I woke up. Roads were wet, but not enough to spray up.

This week I will break 5,000 commuting miles for the year. My goal is 5,200 or an average of 100 per week. With 4 weeks to go, minus a couple of days off around Christmas, this should be easily achieved. Next year I think I may shoot for an average of 115/week, or 6,000 total. This past year had a slow start in Jan/Feb, so if that doesn't happen, the 115/week may be possible. What hurts the average the most is a week of work off and putting down zero miles.

My Cubicle Christmas Tree

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Last edited by mgw4jc; 12-05-16 at 07:54 AM.
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Old 12-05-16 | 07:57 AM
  #3128  
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No rain, yay

We didn't see any of the overnight rains this morning. So the commute had a bit of road spray, but no rain. Tomorrow promises a bit more rain on the ride home.


I'm noticing, now that I'm in my 2nd year of commuting, that the battle is more mental than physical. The actual ride is never very tough at all. But the preparation, expecting the worse from weather, dreading getting up so early, etc., are all really just in the head.


Flatting, on the other hand, is real and it's not fun. Best to be ready for it, and accept it as a part of bike riding.
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Old 12-05-16 | 07:58 AM
  #3129  
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Originally Posted by mgw4jc
My Cubicle Christmas Tree

Awwww. That's terrific!
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Old 12-05-16 | 08:46 AM
  #3130  
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From: Raleigh, NC

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Wet roads here as well, but the rain had stopped well before I left for work. It was a slow commute because I was being cautious due to very wet streets, leaves, etc. Temperature was just about right for me, low 40s, which cool enough to keep me from sweating much and easy to dress for. We are supposed to get heavy rains tomorrow, so I will probably drive unless the forecasters are wrong. The rest of the week looks pretty clear after that.
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Old 12-05-16 | 08:56 AM
  #3131  
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Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral

34F and wet from last night's rains. Fortunately just warm enough not to freeze. Haven't tested the winter/studded bike... guess I should soon!
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Old 12-05-16 | 09:12 AM
  #3132  
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34 degrees and breezy.

First dry morning we've had in about three weeks, so I jumped on the opportunity and took the road bike. I've been riding my hybrid and my winter bikes. I'm always amazed with how comparatively fast the road bike is after I've been off of it for a while.

We've had an unseasonably warm fall so far. We've only had a couple of mornings below 20 degrees and maybe only a dozen mornings below freezing. Sounds like that will change beginning Wednesday when temps are predicted to return to their normal December single-digits and lower values.
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Old 12-05-16 | 10:02 AM
  #3133  
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Started with a 1 mile sprint on my commuter bike chasing my 15 yr old who forgot his PE clothes for school. So I am racing in the dark (with a headlight) just wearing my own running shorts, t-shirt, and crocs, it is 34F, pelting huge chunks of slush, yelling at the top of my lungs (I caught sight of him about a half mile from home) for the remaining half mile it took to run him down (fortunately he got to some turns that he had to slow down for).

On the way home, I pass a cyclist going the opposite direction in the dark, and as soon as she saw me she turned her headlight on, turned out it was my daughter going to her school (same direction as son's but another mile farther). I checked her tail light, and she didn't have one (still charging at home it turned out) so I gave her mine.

Then I get home, there's an email on my phone wanting to know if I was going to make it to open the meeting room for 8am, so at that point I had to drive. Anyway, here it is, 8am, meeting room is open.
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Old 12-05-16 | 10:03 AM
  #3134  
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convenient that yet another weekend has gone by w/o selling that 2nd car.
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Old 12-05-16 | 11:27 AM
  #3135  
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Bikes: Marin Four Corners, 1960's Schwinn Racer in middle of restoration, mid 70s Motobecane Grand Touring, various other heaps.

Nice ride. Broke out the "new" winter bike for the first time. Really need to get a set of fenders...my tush got soaked.


Last edited by Abe_Froman; 12-05-16 at 02:33 PM.
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Old 12-05-16 | 11:51 AM
  #3136  
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I had to take the car today as there is snow on our roads and it is still coming down. Most likely not more than a few inches, but I will not take my bike in the snow. I hope all the snow on the ground is gone and the roads are dry by tomorrow morning. I may not get my wish.
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Old 12-06-16 | 07:29 AM
  #3137  
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From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

My wife picked me up yesterday after work, so no commute home. I would have found a little bit of rain for the last 2-3 miles. Not sorry to miss that.

But I made up for it this morning as the the light drizzle and light rain soaked me well enough on my way in. It was colder than I expected too at 42 degrees. I wouldn't have minded a better rain coat and warmer gloves. For some reason I chose my lightest weight gloves and they weren't helping much by about half way. Oh well.

I was a good 20 minutes early to the vicinity of my office so I stopped at Panera Bread and went to warm up a bit by their fireplace. I had a few glances from patrons and employees, but probably more of pity than anything.
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Old 12-06-16 | 08:20 AM
  #3138  
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From: Norman, OK

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43F with cloud coverage that obscured a view of the stars. Winds from the north were blowing hardcore, making me glad to own an ebike for a commuter. The wind was strong enough, however, to slow me down and add an extra 10 minutes to my usual 40-minute ride. Maybe it'll stay this way for the ride home.
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Old 12-06-16 | 08:38 AM
  #3139  
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From: Memphis TN area

Bikes: 2011 Felt Z85 (road/commuter), 2006 Marin Pine Mountain (utility/commuter E-bike), 1995 KHS Alite 1000 (gravel grinder)

Chickened out once again. My winter riding is not looking good so far. I prepared last night for a wet ride this morning, but it was still raining when my alarm sounded at 5 AM. So I went back to sleep until 6:20.

Only one commute day last week, and if I can manage to ride tomorrow that will probably be my only commute day this week.

Last edited by PatrickGSR94; 12-06-16 at 09:58 AM.
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Old 12-06-16 | 08:45 AM
  #3140  
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Raining, kind of cold but I was glad for it. This should finally finish off containing the mountain wildfires, and we're still in a Level 2 drought response so I'd like to see a lot more.

It was the first time in months to use my fancy rain-gear: a dx.com "stylish cycling rain jacket", which is apparently styled for a short-armed female person which I am not, but with gloves it actually does keep me from no more than damp. Shoes are also dry, which took me about three years to figure out.
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Old 12-06-16 | 08:49 AM
  #3141  
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16 degrees, light snow flurries and a very fierce wind this morning. Took me an hour of riding to go 9.5 miles straight into it. Thankfully I rode my hybrid, because my winter bike would have added another 20 minutes to the trip. My toes were pretty numb by the time I arrived. This is my eighth year of winter commuting and I still haven't found a good solution to cold toes.

Supposed to get to a high of 23 degrees around noon, then the temp will continuously drop into the single digits overnight. And as luck would have it, today I have a lot of different places I need to be so by the time I get home tonight I'll have logged about 35 miles.
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Old 12-06-16 | 09:03 AM
  #3142  
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34 with light flurries this morning. A nice tailwind made for an easy ride in. Temps drop all day with snow and strong winds for the ride home. See if I made the right clothing choices. Been wearing waterproof ankle high hiking boots but when the temps drop further I'm going to try a pair of muck boots. Brought in a pair of icearmor gloves for the ride home. They are wind/waterproof but too warm for most days, thinking they should be ok for the ride home since they can dry overnight.
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Old 12-06-16 | 09:24 AM
  #3143  
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Originally Posted by Abe_Froman
Nice ride. Broke out the "new" winter bike for the first time. Really need to get a set of fenders...my tush got soaked.
Nice - I remember when the Trek 850 came out... really wanted one! 37F and rain though it didn't get steady until right after I got to the office. I love when that happens!
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Old 12-06-16 | 09:52 AM
  #3144  
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Originally Posted by arsprod
Nice - I remember when the Trek 850 came out... really wanted one! 37F and rain though it didn't get steady until right after I got to the office. I love when that happens!
Thanks. I was honestly surprised at how nice of a bike this is. Super light, shifts great. I need to file the brake pads down some or just replace them...pretty darn grindy.

I'm thinking I may turn this into my year round icky weather commuter. Put some fenders on it and a large saddle bag, commuter slicks. I've been meaning to put my everyday commuter on a bit of a diet...lose the fenders/rack/pannier on that.
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Old 12-06-16 | 09:59 AM
  #3145  
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
16 degrees, light snow flurries and a very fierce wind this morning. Took me an hour of riding to go 9.5 miles straight into it. Thankfully I rode my hybrid, because my winter bike would have added another 20 minutes to the trip. My toes were pretty numb by the time I arrived. This is my eighth year of winter commuting and I still haven't found a good solution to cold toes.

Supposed to get to a high of 23 degrees around noon, then the temp will continuously drop into the single digits overnight. And as luck would have it, today I have a lot of different places I need to be so by the time I get home tonight I'll have logged about 35 miles.
Feet never have really bothered me. My issue has always been the eyes...never been able to find a happy medium between tears streaming down my face and freezing and toasty but impaired peripheral vision/fogginess. New set of cheap motorcycle goggles just came in the mail, just in time for coldest day of the year here.
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Old 12-06-16 | 10:16 AM
  #3146  
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33F and gray. Late for a meeting by the time it took my to check my daughter's headlight in the garage and find a screwdriver to adjust it.

Plus I guess the time to stop and take a picture of the sunrise...

ps-> broke out tights, but stuck w/ fingerless gloves due to leaving fullfinger gloves at the office, and boy are my fingertips numb
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Old 12-06-16 | 10:22 AM
  #3147  
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Originally Posted by Abe_Froman
Feet never have really bothered me. My issue has always been the eyes...never been able to find a happy medium between tears streaming down my face and freezing and toasty but impaired peripheral vision/fogginess. New set of cheap motorcycle goggles just came in the mail, just in time for coldest day of the year here.
For a lot of years I used some motorcycle goggles, but like you had fogging issues. Last year I switched to these goggles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They work pretty well from 25 degrees down to about -10 degrees. Above 25 degrees and they're a bit too warm. Below -10 degrees and they do ice up a little bit. At that temp I don't know if there's a way to prevent anything from icing up over time, especially if my mouth/nose is covered. There's just nowhere for the warm moist air to go but straight up into my eyewear.
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Old 12-06-16 | 10:23 AM
  #3148  
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Rode with my son to his middle school this morning. Or rather, chased after him.
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Old 12-06-16 | 10:26 AM
  #3149  
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
For a lot of years I used some motorcycle goggles, but like you had fogging issues. Last year I switched to these goggles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They work pretty well from 25 degrees down to about -10 degrees. Above 25 degrees and they're a bit too warm. Below -10 degrees and they do ice up a little bit. At that temp I don't know if there's a way to prevent anything from icing up over time, especially if my mouth/nose is covered. There's just nowhere for the warm moist air to go but straight up into my eyewear.
Once it gets below 0 I'll probably chicken out anyway lol! It doesn't really get that cold often enough to worry about it here anyway.
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Old 12-06-16 | 11:06 AM
  #3150  
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Foggy! Wore my snowboard gear, which would seem like overkill later in the winter but I was comfy today and that's what mattered.

Today was one of those days where my bike feels 2 sizes too big. It doesn't always. It really depends on how much I've been riding lately, which isn't much. It's definitely at least one size too big, which I've addressed with a short stem and short reach rando handlebars. I guess the whole "cross bike" idea falls down for me at the point where a "cross bike" is a racing bike. I want the same amount of stack and less reach. The standover is reduced by the high BB and big tires to the point that I juuuust make it.
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