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-   -   2017! The how was your commute thread! (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/1093311-2017-how-your-commute-thread.html)

Darth Lefty 08-09-17 08:29 AM


Originally Posted by joeyduck (Post 19777729)
I'll guess it's my lack of posting and the loss of [MENTION=86492]tarwheel[/MENTION] to retirement. The mileage is certainly on tarwheel.

Well I wasn't looking to blame anyone! I'd have guessed the site outage had a lot to do with it. But I guess it was over a year ago now.

I'm sorry to hear you need another surgery and wish you the best with it.

HardyWeinberg 08-09-17 08:55 AM

55F and hazy. Smoke supposed to be back with a vengeance.

dramiscram 08-09-17 09:32 AM

Finally back on my bike this morning. First commute since last october. I had a hard time but I'll get back in shape eventually.
My new job is 38 kms away, which is too far for me, so I bought myself a bike rack and I park the car at the church of the next village. It then give me a ride of 25 kms, which I'm presently able to cover in 1h10 min. approx. Hoping to go under 1 hour eventually.

wphamilton 08-09-17 09:53 AM


Originally Posted by joeyduck (Post 19777729)
I'll guess it's my lack of posting and the loss of tarwheel to retirement. The mileage is certainly on tarwheel....

I've also stopped posting on the commuter mileage thread, because for me recently it's always the same for one year, and not a whole lot of miles. 3600 miles biking for the year preceding, zero driving, kind of boring information. So it's missing my 3600-4700 miles from years past.

I've been getting soaked this week, yesterday morning, today, my Sunday ride, and it looks like more of the same the rest of the week. Fortunately I don't mind when it's warm like this.

noglider 08-09-17 11:37 AM

The weather is uncommonly clear and cool, making for great cycling weather. Today, I challenged myself NOT to ride hard. I had to remind myself a few times as I started to pour the power on. I've been riding so hard that my legs hurt, but in a good way.

https://ridewithgps.com/photos/2847438/large.jpg

ptempel 08-09-17 12:51 PM

It was a nice and cool 68F this morning. Thanks to the truck driver for waiting for me (and not giving me a right hook). I wanted to speed up a bit to make the 125th St light. The truck was also doing the same but was turning a block earlier. I just looked at the temp at wunderground,com and its 90F in NYC. Am surprised that it got that hot. It was forecasted to be around 80F. How wrong they were...

ptempel 08-09-17 12:58 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 19779727)
The weather is uncommonly clear and cool, making for great cycling weather. Today, I challenged myself NOT to ride hard. I had to remind myself a few times as I started to pour the power on. I've been riding so hard that my legs hurt, but in a good way.

Yeah it felt like fall this morning. You comment about legs hurting somehow reminded me of the new Cipolini nude photo. Maybe because I saw it a few times on GCN. Anyway, without much further ado:

http://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.news...door-bike..jpg

No I know why he was a killer sprinter type. :rolleyes:

snow_echo_NY 08-09-17 01:18 PM

looking good [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] that's a gorgeous photo
i also have been riding exceedingly slow. like 7-8 mph during my commute to work. more people on the roads (whether on bikes or in cars) and i'm in no rush. enjoying the cool mornings this past week has been wonderful. i'm so loving this weather right now! it's so perfect.

groovestew 08-09-17 01:30 PM

Back to work after three weeks off. I didn't do a ton of riding during my holidays, and I felt it on my way in yesterday.

My fixed gear is back in business with a new rear tire, cog, and chain. The drivetrain is super smooth and quiet now. Riding up the hills in the morning must have tightened the cog more than I was able to do in the shop, which meant the lock ring wasn't quite tight enough to stop the cog from trying to come loose for a 1/2 turn of the wheel when trying to stop. Switched to using my brake for the ride home and then re-tightened the lock ring.

Lovely ride yesterday. Didn't ride today due to some trips I need to do after work that are much easier by car. Wuss.

Darth Lefty 08-09-17 02:14 PM

Still on the MTB due to sliced tire on the commuter rig. Running late and not feeling 100%, I did 2/3 of my available single track along my commute but skipped the jumps and other features entirely. Have been fantasizing about a modern full suspension trail bike - even a mass market aluminum one, not a botique carbon wunderbike - but it's just not in the budget. Not this year and not for a while.

essiemyra 08-10-17 05:16 AM

My first day back to work after volunteering and riding with cycle MA since Saturday. The commute was a pleasant uneventful ride with the temp at 64f degrees and clear skies.

ptempel 08-10-17 08:10 AM

Rode in from home today. Its a good day for the longer ride and not too humid. Will take it easy for the ride home and might stop for a watter bottle refill in Rutherford. I still have 2 new Michelin Pro4 Service Course tires waiting for me to put them on. A review is here:

http://road.cc/content/review/82468-...service-course

http://road.cc/sites/default/files/s...?itok=gQKh_A0X

Would like to say that I'll do it when I get home. But knowing me, I'll be too damn tired to get to it... Probably will have to wait for the weekend.

pdlamb 08-10-17 09:17 AM

I just didn't feel like riding hard this morning, so I didn't. Need to adjust to keeping my sister's (energetic) dog for a while. Hard to get a good night's sleep with her bouncing around.


The rain stopped before time to leave the house, but it's a steamy mess. Humidity must be 105%. Before you ask how there can be more moisture in the air than it can hold, remember relative humidity is based on stable air. When the water continues to condense and fall out, that air isn't stable!

Amitoj 08-10-17 09:19 AM

That's a nice clear and crisp shot, [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] Is it from phone camera?

Today is my third day of the week for commuting. I plan to take it easy on the way back. And won't be commuting tomorrow. I need to rest for the overnight 200K this weekend, starting from Lexington MA. Here's the link if anyone is interested:

MA Overnight 200k – August 12th, 2017

HardyWeinberg 08-10-17 09:25 AM

55F, treetop cloud ceiling.

I am losing my voice, I assume due to smog from BC fires, but having fewer breathing problems than other people. Possibly because in general I am already doped to the max on asthma Rx

noglider 08-10-17 11:33 AM

Yesterday morning I almost got right hooked and also I almost got backed into by an inattentive driver. This morning I decided to take my alternate route which bypasses the segment with the worst traffic. This route goes through Inwood Hill Park, involves an extremely steep climb, and takes me over the Henry Hudson Bridge which offers a spectacular view. In the park I encountered a sign that said my path was closed and I should take the lower path. I didn't know that route nor how to use it to get to the bridge. I ended up doing an even harder climb and getting lost. And near the summit, my rear tire went flat. Funny, I was just thinking it was a long time since I've had a flat. So I stopped to fix it. The park was a virgin forest until the 1930s and hasn't been changed much since then. It's also very empty, and I wondered how safe I was alone in the woods, fixing a flat. Well I didn't see anyone good or bad. Sweat was dripping off my face as I did the repair. I found my way back to the street and continued on my normal route with the bad traffic. Total time lost for getting lost and fixing the flat was 30 minutes.

groovestew 08-10-17 12:35 PM

Another lovely (and quiet!) ride in, with perfect riding weather. I should have taken the long way.

baron von trail 08-11-17 06:19 AM


Originally Posted by pdlamb (Post 19759921)
Don't keep us in suspense -- did that bald, worse than bald, tire get you home last night?

Oh, no problem getting home, but I kept it reasonably slow. The tire was shot, of course, but it was a Gatorskin. I imagine I could ride those for a 100 miles even if no rubber was left on them at all.

It was still a nice feeling to ride the next day with a nice brand new tire though. :)

Amitoj 08-11-17 07:02 AM


Originally Posted by Amitoj (Post 19782017)
I plan to take it easy on the way back.

The problem with my plan is that there are some climbs on my route that make it quite easy to forget to go easy.
But my legs reminded me of my plan when they started showing signs of cramping up.

So, today is a rest day. I could afford to sleep for 1.5 hours more.:o

Tundra_Man 08-11-17 07:26 AM

High humidity (98%), but otherwise a beautiful morning with clear skies, 58°F and no wind. Along with my usual t-shirt and shorts, I wore gloves which was just enough to keep the rest of me from getting chilly in the damp air. When I left the house I headed in the opposite direction and stopped at a grocery store to pick up some food for our company pot luck today.

Got to work and discovered that I'd forgotten to pack my shaving kit. So I showered and got dressed, but that's as far as my personal hygiene is going to go today.

wphamilton 08-11-17 08:07 AM

Last few days, people wanting to Cat-6 me. It's weird - long grey hair, cargo shorts t-shirt and tennis shoes on a heavy fixed gear with a big pack strapped on back, handlebars way up high, how would it prove something by "racing" me on a MUP? It's not like I rigged up that way to go fast :roflmao2:

I don't pay much attention - I figure Cat 6 on a MUP mainly proves that you don't race, nor ever ride with fast people in general. But yesterday a guy passes me after I'm waiting on a pedestrian, and actually twists back and hollers "come on, Let's go", waving his arm, and then stands on his pedals! 3,100 commutes on the Greenway, and I think that's a first.

HardyWeinberg 08-11-17 09:40 AM

56F overcast. Wind supposed to come in and blow the smog back to BC this afternoon. Wait and see I guess.

pdlamb 08-11-17 09:50 AM

Dark, damp, muggy, slow.


There's about half a mile of converted rail bed / running and bike path near work on my route. A jogger ahead of me was enjoying his lonely run until I dinged my bell from 10 years back. He jumped and twisted as though he'd hit an electric wire. I apologized for scaring him, and rode the next quarter mile trying not to giggle out loud.

rhm 08-11-17 11:29 AM

Yesterday, after riding my daily 4 miles of NYC traffic and the Queensboro Bridge, I was on my usual Long Island Railroad train heading east.

But at Oakdale the train stopped, the doors opened, and they announced that the train was being held "for an undetermined period of time" pending police activity ahead, between Sayville and Patchogue. I was about 15 or 17 miles from home and figured oh heck, I'll just ride it.

So I got on my folding bike and rode. It was hot and sunny, and i had a bit of a tailwind, so I made pretty good time. Not my favorite roads; it's not a route I'd have chosen, but not terrible. I saw a few inlets with boats and sea birds etc, and I saw the Great South Bay at one point, with a view of Fire Island in the distance. When I got to Patchogue, for no particular reason, I took a small detour to see what they were announcing at the station. Before I got there, I saw (in the distance) the gates come down, and a train go through the crossing, and the gates come up again. SO I rode like hell and managed to get to the station before the train left.

I assumed I was back on my usual train. I worried that they would make me pay another fare (but they didn't).

It wasn't until I got to my destination that I realized, I was not on my usual train. My 8 mile bike ride from Oakdale to Patchogue got me on the earlier train. So I saved myself fifteen minutes or so.

groovestew 08-11-17 11:41 AM

Cool (but not cold), calm, sunny, pretty much a repeat of yesterday and Tuesday. I'm loving this weather.

Had a few tense moments on the ride home yesterday. Going downhill on a MUP and rounding a long bend maybe a bit too fast, suddenly some manner of flying bug got caught in my helmet strap and started stinging or biting just in front of my ear. It was enough to distract me while I frantically tried to brush it away, and suddenly I found myself on the far side of the path and almost in the bushes. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic. Got myself righted without a wipeout. The sting hurt like a ****** for the next several minutes.


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