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2017! The how was your commute thread!

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2017! The how was your commute thread!

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Old 10-19-17 | 11:56 AM
  #2576  
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Last night was gorgeous. It was unusually warm and also clear. The river path was emptier than normal. I shot a picture of the river, but it came out terrible. I was overdressed and got hot.

This morning, I was also overdressed. I guess whenever the weather changes, I have to relearn which clothing combinations work for which temperatures. Still, it doesn't seem like the best weather for riding shirtless, yet I saw a shirtless person yesterday and today. Maybe they're the same person.
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Old 10-19-17 | 01:00 PM
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From: Thornton, CO

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Originally Posted by wphamilton
I came up on a couple of road bikes on my way home, and the second guy, drafting closely, was too squirrelly for me to hang behind so I decided to pass. Going around, I heard someone say something and laugh - ok, I look anything but "serious" in casual wear on a dutch-like single speed, but if you laugh ... and can't even hold a wheel at 20, that's gotta be embarrassing.
Are you trying to say that you're the fastest Dutch single speed rider in the east? I have a funny story passing a guy with a motorized bicycle (moped?) on the GWB. Going home on the north sidewalk, I saw a guy on a moped pedalng and trying to start the motor. Before I passed him, I said "the only motor you need are your legs!" Then he replied something like, "you'll see how fast this thing goes when I pass you." So I finally heard him come up from behind and held my thumb up on my left hand. Was sort of a "right on" gesture. He passes and I get behind him. Then a short while later the motor craps out again. I swing by him again and he yells "AAAAH!" So much for the awsome power of the moped...

Last edited by ptempel; 10-19-17 at 01:29 PM.
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Old 10-19-17 | 01:18 PM
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Originally Posted by ptempel
Are you trying to say that you're the fastest Dutch single speed rider in the east?
Naw just faster than the smart-alec roadie. Day before yesterday, a guy on an upright cruiser swooshed past and opened up a gap - I wasn't even tempted to pretend I could ride faster than him.

Originally Posted by ptempel
I have a funny story passing a guy with a motorized bicycle (moped?) on the GWB. Going home on the notrh sidewalk, I saw a guy on a moped pedalng and trying to start the motor. Before I passed him, I said "the only motor you need are your legs!" Then he replied something like, "you'll see how fast this thing goes when I pass you." So I finally heard him come up from behind and held my thumb up on my left hand. Was sort of a "right on" gesture. He passes and I get behind him. Then a short while later the motor craps out again. I swing by him again and he yells "AAAAH!" So much for the awsome power of the moped...
Just wait until he graduates to a motorcycle, then he'll show you!
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Old 10-19-17 | 01:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
37°F this morning (yes, I wore shorts )
That's my boy!!

Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
It also happened to be a new company record (sad that only 3 riders is a new record, but oh well...) so we decided to go back outside and snap a photo.
Considering the record was either 1 or 2 riders, this is a pretty significant gain. You gotta start somewhere.
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Old 10-19-17 | 01:39 PM
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From: Thornton, CO

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Originally Posted by wphamilton
Naw just faster than the smart-alec roadie. Day before yesterday, a guy on an upright cruiser swooshed past and opened up a gap - I wasn't even tempted to pretend I could ride faster than him.
Never underestimate the cruiser rider. He could be a daily commuter in good shape like us!

Originally Posted by wphamilton
Just wait until he graduates to a motorcycle, then he'll show you!
Heh. Somehow I think that the service history for that may not be any better than for the moped. I hope he doesn't stall on the GWB roadway with the motorcycle. It could be a bit more scary then the sidewalk...
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Old 10-20-17 | 06:28 AM
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
At some point when it gets cold enough I'll probably quit commuting on the road bike entirely and switch to the e-bike exclusively.
But then do you lose some of the heat normally produced by effort? That's what keeps me comfortable in the winter (and sweaty in the summer).

46F this morning felt quite comfortable after yesterday's 40F. I had a biking/running friend post on Strava yesterday that he ran in tights. I commented, "Really? I didn't even wear tights on my morning ride. Oh wait, you shave your legs." I do think the leg hair helps keep me comfortable in these cooler temps.

I'm the only commuter in my workplace, but I do know of a couple of others that ride. One used to commute some but stopped a couple of years ago.
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Old 10-20-17 | 06:43 AM
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I was riding home yesterday, almost home, when a black cat ran across the road in front of me. No, I am not cycling in today!!!



(Yes, a black cat did run across the road in front of me yesterday but that's not why I'm not riding in today, errand that requires the use of the car.)
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Old 10-20-17 | 07:04 AM
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170 miles of commuting in 4-days this week. I was tempted to do my first-ever 5-day commute week, mainly because the weather has been so nice, but was just too tired after 4-days straight. I've ridden four days in a week before, but usually Mon-Tues, take a rest day on Wed, and then Thursday-Friday. The Mon-Thurs thing was a bit much... so I drove today. :-)
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Old 10-20-17 | 07:28 AM
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An amazing sunrise and patches of ground fog - looked like a fog machine at a concert
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Old 10-20-17 | 07:35 AM
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Consecutive work commute number 393.

Woke up at 4:15 to the cat freaking out. Turns out there was a neighbor's cat out on the prowl and it decided to park in front of our living room window, which caused our cat to go ballistic. Took a few minutes to calm our cat down. Then I went back to bed, but by this point I was pretty well awake. I finally fell back to sleep only to oversleep, so I got to work late.

Weather was pretty nice. 54F and the sun was out. The weather forecast said today would be overcast, but so far they're wrong. They're also saying that the winds are supposed to come up strong and be blowing up to 40 mph by 5 PM when I leave work. I get to ride straight into it the whole way home. Unfortunately, while they can't seem to be too accurate with any other facet of weather, they're rarely wrong about the wind prediction.
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Old 10-20-17 | 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by mgw4jc
But then do you lose some of the heat normally produced by effort? That's what keeps me comfortable in the winter (and sweaty in the summer).

46F this morning felt quite comfortable after yesterday's 40F. I had a biking/running friend post on Strava yesterday that he ran in tights. I commented, "Really? I didn't even wear tights on my morning ride. Oh wait, you shave your legs." I do think the leg hair helps keep me comfortable in these cooler temps.

I'm the only commuter in my workplace, but I do know of a couple of others that ride. One used to commute some but stopped a couple of years ago.
I still put in plenty of effort on the e-bike. In order to do the 30 mile round trip on one charge, I have to keep the assist down to 3 out of 9 in the morning, and usually 4 in the afternoon unless I'm running low then 3. I usually only average 16-17 MPH tops and that's with plenty of effort put in on the uphill parts. But I'll still be out there in the cold for 20-25 minutes less than on the road bike. And for me, the longer I'm out there means the more frozen my toes get.

Yesterday I busted tail on the road bike, and was dog slow. Felt sort of crappy when I left the office. I think I had forgotten to take my heart meds. E-bike today, which was uneventful except I overestimated the temperature. I think it dropped a few degrees as I got closer to the office. I thought I could do minimal sandals on the platform pedals, but my piggies were in pain by the time I arrived at work.
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Old 10-20-17 | 09:29 AM
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47F, wet.

Last night, rode to mechanics to retrieve my wife's car. SCREAMING downpour the last few minutes. Stuffed shoes with newspaper at home, they were dry enough this morning. Socks were not though. Fortunately I have multiple pairs.
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Old 10-20-17 | 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted by KCBikeCommuter
170 miles of commuting in 4-days this week. I was tempted to do my first-ever 5-day commute week, mainly because the weather has been so nice, but was just too tired after 4-days straight. I've ridden four days in a week before, but usually Mon-Tues, take a rest day on Wed, and then Thursday-Friday. The Mon-Thurs thing was a bit much... so I drove today. :-)
My commute is short compared to yours (12mi r/t) but I'm new to bike commuting and have done every day of the week for 9 weeks straight now. Most mornings I get up early and do 45mins on the Peloton before my commute in, so I'm clocking ~120 miles per week. Past few weeks I've done a 20mi after work ride to grab beers near the end of the week, and taken the train home.

Let's just say by the end of the week I'm just beat, and am not getting up at 6am on Fridays to do yet another Peloton workout!
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Old 10-21-17 | 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg
46F, rain, 2nd straight day of regular glasses, not sunglasses. I am calling it, it is winter now.

Also unusual load of jerks in trucks/cars this morning all in the last mile or so today.
By far, the rudest, biggest idiots drive pickup trucks.
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Old 10-23-17 | 05:14 AM
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A very nice uneventful commute riding the longer route this morning, with the temp at 54 f degrees and partly cloudy skies.
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Old 10-23-17 | 06:29 AM
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Typically if Accuweather says a temp it's actually 10 degrees colder out.. not today! Pleasant ride. Back on the Trek after a spoke replacement and alot of cleaning. Had to get a replacement back tire and not sure I care for it. The max psi is only 70 where the old was 80, it's more comfortable at least!
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Old 10-23-17 | 06:57 AM
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Wet morning, but really just a drizzle for part of the ride. Warm enough at 67ish (F). We got those thunderstorms coming around 4 or 5pm though so I may be looking for a rescue from the wife. Rest of the week looks nice though.
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Old 10-23-17 | 07:44 AM
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Rain, forecast later - rain, forecast tomorrow - rain, rest of the week - rain
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Old 10-23-17 | 08:44 AM
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Expecting heavy rain all day, I decided to ride "the wedge" upright fairing bike. Although any effort at all gets me pretty warm in that shell, it seems like with another mild winter I'll never get to ride it if I wait for real cold

I don't like my latest iteration of the design, bad aerodynamics relative to the earlier ones. I'll need to do some re-work if I want to ride it much more.
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Old 10-23-17 | 08:51 AM
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Yesterday I came down with a bug. Heavy chest, coughing up phlegm, sore throat, stuffed up head, aches, etc. Not much fun.

This morning I woke up and still felt pretty lousy. Unfortunately school is out today so if I were to stay home there wouldn't be much peace and quiet. I decided I'd actually get more rest if I just went to work. I did compromise when my alarm went off and slept an additional hour. I figured I'd just skip lunch break, as I probably wouldn't feel like getting up from my desk anyway.

My desk is in a corner far away from everyone else and I'm planning on doing all my interactions today via email so I don't infect the world.

My wife asked, "so I'm assuming you're going to drive today?" Nope. I figure if I'm well enough to make it through a day of work I should be well enough to ride. Consecutive bicycle commute number 394. However, I purposefully went really slow. I don't think I broke 11 mph the whole way to the office, even down the hills. Some of that was due to the 30 mph headwinds, and some of it was a conscious choice that I didn't need to endure a big cardio workout this morning.

The good news is, winds are supposed to break 50 mph this afternoon and unless the forecast is wrong I should get it as a tailwind. I may not even need to pedal on the way home.
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Old 10-23-17 | 09:35 AM
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Rain came through overnight, and it was almost gone this morning. But boy, was it ever dark! Heavy, low overcast. I was running flashing rear light and helmet light all the way in.


Between the overcast darkness and the almost-not-raining precipitation, it seemed like most people didn't want to get out. Or maybe they're all hung over from watching football all weekend.
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Old 10-23-17 | 09:52 AM
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40F, clammy, mostly clear. Nice break from 4" of rain on Saturday.
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Old 10-23-17 | 10:10 AM
  #2598  
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It's unusually warm here again, so I wore shorts for the ride in. I carry a jacket in case it becomes unexpectedly normal, but I trust the forecast nowadays. It said slight chance of shower, so it was a good risk to take, and it didn't rain on me. The winds were weird. At first, it seemed like a headwind, and then it seemed to shift a lot. Aha, the wind map shows some unusual patterns on the whole US. Here in NYC, the wind is usually from the northwest or southwest, but today, they're from the southeast. I think I had a tail wind more than a headwind, but I had some of each.
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Old 10-23-17 | 01:03 PM
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Had to cycle home today to get the waste that came out from my under my floorboards removed by a company, sorted and recycled.

Two commutes is nice, the raining weather not so much and the cost for the soil, wood, brick and plaster really not at all ...

Waste removed ... that's about 1m3 of brick/masonry and about 4m3 of soil / wood next to it.
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Old 10-23-17 | 07:31 PM
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It's been a couple of weeks, but finally back on the bike. Chilly commute this morning. I took a shortcut, a dirt trail better suited to fat knobbies than 28mm touring tires pumped to 80psi, but I made it okay. Spun out and stalled on one climb, and had to lift my bike over a couple of fallen trees.

On the way home, an impatient bus driver started passing me, then had to gun it to get past so he could pull over for a stop...except that he failed to see a pedestrian in a crosswalk until too late. Thankfully, the pedestrian noticed the bus about to mow her down and backed off, so no collision, but man, was that driver ever stupid.
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