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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 05-23-16, 06:36 AM
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Got a late start today, about 10 minutes behind schedule. Amazingly, I made it up during the ride and arrived at work at the same time as usual.
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Old 05-23-16, 07:17 AM
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Great ride to work this morning, cloudy and cool with a nice tailwind. We had a lot of rain overnight and the roads were still wet in spots, but only a few light sprinkles during my ride. We are supposed to get more rain midday, but it's supposed to quit by commuting time this afternoon. The rest of the week is supposed to be sunny and warm, with high temperatures near 90 F.

My wife and I are heading to San Francisco and Yosemite NP for vacation next week, so my commuting this week will wrap up my cycling for May. It has been my most challenging month for cycling in a very long time, with numerous storms, prolonged rainy spells and other events that made riding on weekends difficult. One of my cycling goals is to ride at least 1,000 KM a month, and that streak will be broken this month after about two years. However, I did keep my streak alive for riding at least one metric century a month, which I've had going for more than two years.
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Old 05-23-16, 08:31 AM
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Today was my 70th consecutive workday commute. It was pouring rain. It would have been easy for me to drive the car today, but my wife's car is in the shop and she needed mine to get around.

I probably would have ridden anyway, but this pretty much made the decision for me!
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Old 05-23-16, 08:43 AM
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I only commuted once last week (bike to work week) and that was on bike to work day. But I am back in the saddle today! Great ride all around.
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Old 05-24-16, 04:52 AM
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The commute to work was wet, as it started raining about the 2nd mile. So I took the shortest route. The temp was 58f degrees it is one of the warmest temps so far this year.
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Old 05-24-16, 06:16 AM
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Another nice morning for a ride. Sunny and clear at 51F here. High today and the rest of the week will be in the 80s.
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Old 05-24-16, 06:39 AM
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Beautiful weather this morning for the first time in nearly two weeks, sunny and a little cool with temps in the low 50s. The high is supposed to reach low 80s this afternoon and about 90 the rest of the week.

School buses were my challenge this morning. First, a bus passed me with inches to spare on a 4-lane road in which the driver easily could have stayed wide. All that so the driver could reach a red light 2 seconds faster, and then it came to a full screeching stop at a RR crossing, forcing me to stop as well. I shot the driver a bird but doubt if he/she saw it.

About 2 miles later, another bus stopped in the middle of the road to wait on a tardy student who was taking their time getting out of bed. Traffic was backed up both ways, with no child in sight. The stupid thing is the bus driver could have easily pulled out of the roadway so it wasn't blocking traffic.
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Old 05-24-16, 06:48 AM
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54 degrees, sunny, light and variable winds. Now that's what the last month of Spring is supposed to be like.

81 degrees called for tonight at 5. And, I forgot my headband. Sweat will pour down my face and into my eyes. Signs of summer.
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Old 05-24-16, 06:58 AM
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It was a beautiful 8C/46F and sunny morning and I took a nice leisurely ride in. It was a good long weekend (in Canada), back to work today.

In 2 weeks is the Commuter Challenge in Canada, Jun 5 to 11. Signup if you haven't already done so, Commuter Challenge.
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Old 05-24-16, 06:59 AM
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I almost hit a deer. I was riding an unfamiliar bike (a 1948 Raleigh Record Ace that I'm getting ready to sell... so repeated test rides to make sure it's saleable) and it has a dynamo headlight that flashes a bit. I suspect the deer was puzzled by the very small but very bright point of flashing light. So she was standing right in front of me, looking straight at me, and I got to maybe 20 feet from her before I saw her. I was not paying attention, more focused on the bike. I glanced up and there she was... I yelled "beat it, moron!" and she crashed through the underbrush. Dumb deer.
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Old 05-24-16, 07:07 AM
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I spotted about half a dozen of these trundling down the Greenway this morning!



I'd coincidentally ridden past this Northpoint station on Sunday, and came back to have a look but I didn't see any obvious way to rent one. People were standing around the sign I guess. Awesome Alpharetta Evidently you can just download the rideshare app and get a lock code, and the first three hours are free. What a deal. I'm tempted to lock up near one of the stations and take one for a few miles.
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Old 05-24-16, 07:27 AM
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Very humid morning, but 61 degrees and a light wind.

Went for a run, then rode to work and tacked on an extra 1.3 miles because I had to stop at a grocery store and pick up something for the company pot-luck which I spaced off before this morning. Going to log a skosh over 20 miles before the day is done. Got right-hooked this morning but thankfully the guy had his turn signal on so I anticipated it happening and got on the brakes, which turned a bad situation into more of an annoyance.

I rode my fixed gear bike. I hadn't ridden it much in the last 5 years or so, mostly because it was geared too high and the seat wasn't comfortable. Last week I decided that I need to either fix these problems and ride it more often, or get rid of it. I ordered a new seat and cog because, you know, n+1.

Went from a 16 tooth cog to a 17. It definitely improved the gearing. Still just a touch high so I may even pick up an 18 tooth and swap that in and see if it's better. I live on top of a huge hill so I would appreciate the lower gearing when heading home, but I don't want to go so low that I give up the benefit when I leave the house. Going to have to find the right balance.

The new seat felt better. The stock seat was pretty much just a piece of plastic with a layer of fake leather over the top. I just went with a cheapo Cloud 9 to replace it. I am going to have to tweak the positioning a bit as I felt like I was wanting to slide off the front of it. I'll probably adjust it over lunch before I ride to a client's office. Then if it needs a little more tweaking I can adjust it again before I head home.
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Old 05-24-16, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by baron von trail
54 degrees, sunny, light and variable winds. Now that's what the last month of Spring is supposed to be like.

81 degrees called for tonight at 5.
Finally! Although a little cooler here I like it!!
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Old 05-24-16, 12:34 PM
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Tough Commute this morning until I was able to detour to the bike shop on my route... they did a quick re-true on my rear tire over the weekend and I lost the use of my climbing gear and as I WFH on Monday I didn't know until this morning there was an issue when I hit my smaller hills and realized I was a gear short -_- ... being the biggest and longest hill of my commute is right before their shop I opt'd not to try and soldier up it and have them do a quick fix instead... they doing a full pro service for me this weekend when I am planning to be out of town anyway thankfully they are very supportive of the daily commuters like myself ...

Day 6 of my 43 mile roundtrip commute ....my legs are feeling much stronger on the hills now and much better now that I am fully rested
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Old 05-24-16, 01:32 PM
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@tarwheel

My father and his sister and respective spouses just spent a week in Yosemite. They had a fabulous time and they said the waterfalls this time of the year were amazing.

I remember being amazed and awwed when I went and spent a few days there in my mid to late teens.

It is a truly spectacular place. Enjoy your trip and share the photos.
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Old 05-24-16, 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by joeyduck
@tarwheel

My father and his sister and respective spouses just spent a week in Yosemite. They had a fabulous time and they said the waterfalls this time of the year were amazing.

I remember being amazed and awwed when I went and spent a few days there in my mid to late teens.

It is a truly spectacular place. Enjoy your trip and share the photos.
I can't wait. This will be my first time visiting Yosemite, although we drove from San Francisco north along US 1 to Redwoods and Crater Lake national parks a few years ago. We won't have bikes but plan to do a lot of hiking.
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Old 05-24-16, 01:58 PM
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Damn! No riding tomorrow. I just made a commitment to visit a customer. And, it's going to be a perfect day too.
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Old 05-25-16, 04:42 AM
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Well another damp but good commute. It was foggy and misty with a temp of 58f degrees this am. This afternoon the temp is supposed to hit 90f degrees. I am thinking that calls for a long ride home.
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Old 05-25-16, 06:33 AM
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Nice morning again at about 55F. Sunny and a bit humid, but very pleasant overall.
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Old 05-25-16, 06:50 AM
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The ride home was in hot, albeit, windy, weather, 28C/82F, which is very hot for this time of year, I'm glad of the wind (despite being a headwind) on the ride home.

This morning was a comfortable 11C/52F but overcast.
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Old 05-25-16, 07:15 AM
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Rain storm hit early this morning. Winds topped out at 60 mph. It woke me up and kept me awake for a while.

By the time I left for work the roads were wet, but the sun was peeking out. It was a pretty decent ride.

They're predicting more storms as the day progresses, and even some sizable hail. That could get interesting depending on what time it hits.
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Old 05-25-16, 07:22 AM
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Finally a warm morning (64F) and I walk out to the bike - flatto. Oh well, no hurry, new tube, no worries!
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Old 05-25-16, 07:44 AM
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Back to normal on the Greenway today with no Zagster bike share bikes spotted in the wild. Possibly the novelty has worn off - after one day.
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Old 05-25-16, 07:51 AM
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Today I used my Garmin to track my commute AND my clipless pedals for the first time on my commute. SRS BSNS.

Anyway, still getting the hang of clipless. Clipping is tricky, but unclipping is really easy (maybe because my pedals are designed for newbs like myself). I didn't feel THAT much of a difference, though uphill was relatively easier than with platform pedals. Afternoon commute will tell more, when I don't have a headwind to fight.
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Old 05-25-16, 09:01 AM
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It was hot this morning, hot enough for the pannier instead of the backpack.
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