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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 05-05-16, 01:03 AM
  #1076  
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Still out of it due to a <health issue redacted>, but I scratched my itch hard...

Sold some handlebars which put some money in my Paypal account

For my Cannondale commuter, bought new pedals and a new RD hanger. Bike will also get the lower 9-speed cassette from wife's Rivendell.

For wife's Rivendell, bought an 8-speed cassette. She wanted triggers and the only all-silver triggers I could find for sale were Sora 8-speed flatbar. These will replace Tektro levers and Silver shifters, not sure yet what I'll do with those.
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Old 05-05-16, 01:53 AM
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Originally Posted by bmthom.gis
Now that's some scenery we can all be envious of
Yes its a beautifull piece of my commute, unfortunately its only about 10 minutes or so from the 60 minutes ride. The rest is all industrial zone and riding along the highways. To make matters worse, the parc is slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller. Maybe its time for me to move
But i enjoy it while its there
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Old 05-05-16, 04:50 AM
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Another nice uneventful commute, with the temp at 43f degrees and a light drizzle. We are in our fifth day of this of rainy gloom. But on the bright side, I still rode the bike!!
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Old 05-05-16, 06:28 AM
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The light drizzle that I started out in stopped about 3 miles in. But then around mile 6 it started up again and became more steady for the next 3-4 miles. At 52F the air temp wasn't too bad, but the rain was cold. I hadn't worn gloves and my hands were quite cold. My socks got quite soggy too. It stopped again about 2 miles from the office which allowed me to dry off a bit.

Today's high is only going to be 65, a good 10 degrees cooler than yesterday.
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Old 05-05-16, 06:41 AM
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One word sums up the commute: Cold.

Jacket morning, first time I wore one since early April. Wearing only shorts went OK though. But, I chose not to wear toe covers...bad idea. My toes complained bitterly about 1/2 an hour into the ride. Fingers were fine, although they too were a bit chilled.

At least I was smart enough to put on ear protection. So, I must have learned something over the years.
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Old 05-05-16, 07:31 AM
  #1081  
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Yesterday I rode my fixie. Had a tail wind on the way home. Had to stand and crank up the monstrous hill for the last mile. It tuckered me out pretty good, but I made the trip in record time. I need to swap out the rear sprocket to a smaller one. Right now it's geared at a 46/16, and I think a 46/17 would be a little more practical compromise for the hills/wind I'm usually riding in. Might make me ride the fixie a little more often if it was geared better.

Today was another beautiful morning. Weather here has just been glorious this week, which is such a nice change from the constant rain and wind storms we had throughout April.

43 degrees, sunny, light wind. I took the road bike for the 2nd time this week. I'm probably getting to the time of the year where that will be my main go-to bike as long as rain isn't predicted.
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Old 05-05-16, 07:39 AM
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Originally Posted by baron von trail
One word sums up the commute: Cold.

Jacket morning, first time I wore one since early April. Wearing only shorts went OK though. But, I chose not to wear toe covers...bad idea. My toes complained bitterly about 1/2 an hour into the ride. Fingers were fine, although they too were a bit chilled.

At least I was smart enough to put on ear protection. So, I must have learned something over the years.
Yesterday, 7C/45F and today, 5C/41F, were mild enough that I've officially put away my tights. However, yesterday and today, I wore long cross-country ski socks that, although they're long enough to be pulled up over my knees, I rolled them down to just below my knees and I was comfortable. I'm looking forward to when those can be put away in the "winter box".

Fastest commute yet, 24.0kmh/14.9mph over 20km/12.4mi, 50'03". It could have been faster I think because I had some slight headwinds but I'm happy and feeling great.
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Old 05-05-16, 07:46 AM
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Finally caught a break in the form of a tailwind, the downside is it was 43F. The ride home will be into 25mph winds but better than the last few days when both ways were headwinds (wondering how I pissed off the commuting gods to make the winds shift both days)
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Old 05-05-16, 09:30 AM
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First commute ride since last November or October, and first-ever on the Renegade.

Constant mist/light rain in my face, and I still have a lot to figure out for myself about how to ride with a derailleur-driven system (I was spoiled by the Uptown 8's IGH), but it was great to be out there again.
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Old 05-05-16, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by jrickards
Yesterday, 7C/45F and today, 5C/41F, were mild enough that I've officially put away my tights. However, yesterday and today, I wore long cross-country ski socks that, although they're long enough to be pulled up over my knees, I rolled them down to just below my knees and I was comfortable. I'm looking forward to when those can be put away in the "winter box".

Fastest commute yet, 24.0kmh/14.9mph over 20km/12.4mi, 50'03". It could have been faster I think because I had some slight headwinds but I'm happy and feeling great.
We were in the 5C range here this morning. I believe much the same is forecast for tomorrow. I'll wear my toe covers then though.
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Old 05-05-16, 12:14 PM
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Last night, going home, it was cool and misty. I finally got the reward I was waiting for, A TAILWIND! I really enjoyed it.

I should have ridden my bike today. The subway had huge problems, and my one-hour trip took two hours and 45 minutes. It sounds awful, but it wasn't. I walked part of the way, through the neighborhood where I lived when I was in college. I walked up to my old apartment building and took some pictures. It was a bit of an adventure. Eventually, I got on a bus which was super crowded and tempers were flaring. The best thing about it was that I wasn't driving a car. After almost three years of being back in the city, I am still happy and grateful about that.
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Old 05-05-16, 12:56 PM
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I was running a bit late this AM, but then a headwind got me to work early. Awesome.Great weather so there have been lots of folks out commuting.Groups of 5 or 6 at some lights.

I’m not keeping track or anything, but the majority of commuters I see are male. The other day I noticed at least 6 or 7 women in a row (not together), so maybe the gender imbalance is becoming less.

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Old 05-05-16, 07:29 PM
  #1088  
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lately my commutes, both morning and evening, have been awesome.
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Old 05-05-16, 08:21 PM
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My commute was good except on the way home someone got really close and I was already in the breakdown lane. A guy I work with passed this idiot the same time he almost clipped me. He went around the guy, slowed down and the idiot passed him and floored it. One mile ahead I caught up with my buddy who was pulled off in a parking lot. He told me the idiot has on his cell phone and he thought he was gonna hit me. He did not give chase but got his license number. I am not gonna report it, but I am more wary.


Funny how an incident like this can make you forget all about the weather.
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Old 05-05-16, 09:08 PM
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I set off with the plan to do the 19 mile version of my afternoon commute (I choose between train stations with choices of ~4, ~8, ~12, and ~19 miles from work) but my body and the wind got in the way. Little too much fiber today, I guess, and the "urge" hit me somewhere between 8 and 12 miles. That coupled with my already tight schedule and going into the wind made me decide to stop at 12 miles so I wouldn't miss the last train home. As luck would have it, the train was late and I could have made it with time to spare, even with a pit stop. D'oh.
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Old 05-06-16, 03:22 AM
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I thought the rain was going to stop today. All week the forecast was that it would stop today. They even said we'd see the sun.

Well, it's raining. Plastic bags on my shoes, best rain jacket. Helmet cover. It wasn't too bad.

Still... enough with the rain already!
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Old 05-06-16, 04:49 AM
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Perfect weather today. Not a cloud in the sky. Almost got mowed down by a cager with a trailer. His response: I didn't see you.
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Old 05-06-16, 04:49 AM
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Well another nice commute this morning, and two good things are there was no drizzle, and its' Friday!! The temp was 48f degrees and gray skies.
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Old 05-06-16, 06:32 AM
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A beautiful morning! About 48F at the start but the sun was out unlike most days this week. About halfway through the ride I saw this little guy in puddle. I could have gotten a pinch flat!




We've had so much rain lately that I'm guessing the creek is running a little strong for his liking so he sought higher ground.
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Old 05-06-16, 06:38 AM
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Great shot! I had to look real close and think about it before figuring out what it was. I'll let others guess, but it will certain stick in their craw.

This week was the worst weather we've had for bike commuting in 2016 and probably more than a year. It rained every day except Wednesday, and I mean pouring rain with with thunderstorms, hail, high winds and lightning. As a result, and my general dislike for riding in the rain, I only rode one day. I was hoping we might get a respite today, but woke up to more pouring rain and there is a high probability of more thunderstorms this afternoon.
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Old 05-06-16, 06:53 AM
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Temps have jumped dramatically end of this week. Went from highs in the 40'sF with wind to 82F yesterday afternoon. Woke up this morning to 52F. Couldn't believe it so I had to step outside. Had an awesome ride in. Fortunately the skunk was more interested in getting into the bushes than standing his ground. Supposed to be 82 again but rumors of 15-20mph winds with the last 4 being right into it.
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Old 05-06-16, 07:01 AM
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The ride home last night was far more pleasant than anticipated. The overcast skies cleared out and the sun shone like it should on a spring afternoon. It was about 65F with a stiff North wind. But, that sunshine made it all seem much warmer and mild.

For the morning commute today, the sky was also clear. It was a bit chilly, but I wore my toe covers and a light jacket. That, plus the ear covers and a light pair of gloves had me nice and toasty. By the time the sun came up, I shed most of that stuff and finished the ride in shorts and a T-Shirt. Can't ask for more than that.
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Old 05-06-16, 07:02 AM
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Lately I've decided to combine casual day at the office with Fred day on the commute. Blue jeans, windbreaker no helmet, on my steel bike with all the accessories. I think I'll keep that up, until it gets too hot to be feasible.
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Old 05-06-16, 07:33 AM
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Sunshine, woohoo finally! 43F this morning but felt warmer because of the nicer weather. Supposed to get to 70 this afternoon... I'm so ready
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Old 05-06-16, 07:40 AM
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Nicer conditions today, 8C/45F and sunny with only a slight breeze but I felt tired and sluggish so I rode the 9km route instead of the 20km route. If I feel better, I'll ride a 22km route home, it will be my first time to take that route home this year so maybe I should make the effort.

Although I rode only 26 of the 30 days of April, so I didn't quite complete the #30DaysOfBiking challenge, I came close and I've been commuting by bike continuously since mid-April and I feel good about continuing like this which will be a first for me, for being so consistent about biking to work. However, there haven't been any rainy days yet to test my resolve, I've got the cold licked, now to get the rain under my belt.

Have a great day and weekend!!
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