2017! The how was your commute thread!
#2226
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 498
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Bikes: Trek Fuel EX8, Caad10, Marin BearValley, WTP BMX, Norco Tandem
I commute east in the AMs and lately the sun has been blinding--right at eye level. I'm certain that half the drivers are driving mostly blind.
#2228
Disco Infiltrator




Joined: May 2013
Posts: 15,324
Likes: 3,516
From: Folsom CA
Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem
I've just noticed I'm at 2/3 of 1000 miles for the year.
Next bike priorities... rim swap and tubeless setup on new MTB, de-tubeless and sell old MTB, put Paramount in long term storage because I just don't use it enough to keep it out
Next bike priorities... rim swap and tubeless setup on new MTB, de-tubeless and sell old MTB, put Paramount in long term storage because I just don't use it enough to keep it out
__________________
Genesis 49:16-17
"Well, well!" said Holmes, impatiently. "A good cyclist does not need a high road. The moor is intersected with paths and the moon is at the full."
Genesis 49:16-17
"Well, well!" said Holmes, impatiently. "A good cyclist does not need a high road. The moor is intersected with paths and the moon is at the full."
#2229
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 7,391
Likes: 13
From: Memphis TN area
Bikes: 2011 Felt Z85 (road/commuter), 2006 Marin Pine Mountain (utility/commuter E-bike), 1995 KHS Alite 1000 (gravel grinder)
#2231
Senior Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 665
Likes: 6
From: Kansas City, KS
98% humidity this morning.. yuck! Tired from remodeling this weekend. Had to relube the Trek yesterday, I've put 5k on the Specialized and only 2.5k on this Trek and I've had to work on it 2x the Specialized!
#2232
Full Member

Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 313
Likes: 19
From: Windham, NH
Bikes: Bianchi Campione, Specialized Diverge Comp E5
Might have to skip bike commute over the next two days as Jose might be visiting us. There is rain forecast for tomorrow as well as day after. Will skip on Friday as well since I have a big bike ride coming up this weekend.
#2233
So for the trip home on Friday:
In the '80's Fahrenheit with fairly high humidity but no rain.
This morning 65 degrees with 96% humidity, so not that bad.
So, when I got the new lights on Friday, I also picked up some zip strips to remount my front basket. And the office is finally letting me park indoors.
In the '80's Fahrenheit with fairly high humidity but no rain.
This morning 65 degrees with 96% humidity, so not that bad.
So, when I got the new lights on Friday, I also picked up some zip strips to remount my front basket. And the office is finally letting me park indoors.
#2234
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,687
Likes: 426
From: Sioux Falls, SD
Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk
First commute in 10 days this morning. Not just first bicycle commute, first commute period. I had all of last week off work and went on my annual motorcycle trip. 
This morning I was back on the pedal bike for the usual ride to work. 58 degrees and rain. Welcome back to the grind.
This morning I was back on the pedal bike for the usual ride to work. 58 degrees and rain. Welcome back to the grind.
#2235
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 7,391
Likes: 13
From: Memphis TN area
Bikes: 2011 Felt Z85 (road/commuter), 2006 Marin Pine Mountain (utility/commuter E-bike), 1995 KHS Alite 1000 (gravel grinder)
Forecast calls for rain later this week, so I went ahead and cycled to work today, which is rare for a Monday. It's rare for me to ride at all on a Monday. Had planned to take the road bike but hit Snooze too many times (again) so took e-bike (again). Had a couple of bone-head blind hill passes, and one of them I saw the guy get out of his truck at his destination so I yelled at him as I rode past "That was a really stupid pass!!" and went on. Oh well, hopefully will have better luck going home.
#2236
Chilly, overcast, and breezy. Saw a loose dog in the valley, looked friendly enough as it came loping towards me. Then a little ways up the path, I'm pretty sure I saw the owner, a guy huffing and puffing along who didn't look like he was just out for a jog.
#2237
GATC

Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,837
Likes: 180
From: south Puget Sound
50F, overcast, wet. First day of fall, basically. Stuck w/ shorts, no tights, switched to shoes/socks instead of sandals. T-shirt and coat rather than longsleeve shirt although I packed that too in case it looks drier for the ride home.
#2238
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,043
Likes: 17
From: Indianapolis
Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral
I had a morning work meeting and the meeting place was on my commute route so when I scheduled the appointment I asked if they minded if I came in bike garb. They said that was fine. I've done this a lot with personal meetings and doc appointments but this was the first time for a work meeting. It was great and while I can't do this with all clients I'm going to start asking more often!
#2239
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 9,684
Likes: 2,602
From: northern Deep South
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Out of town last week, so back to the grind today. The grind started early; a mile from the house I reached down to shift, and the shift lever broke off. I guess Campy levers have about a 17 year life the way I ride and treat them. :/
Back home to pick up the spare bike, and the rest of the ride was pretty normal. Still a bit stiff from Saturday's local "century" ride; I was a mile short of a metric, which is still my longest ride of the year!
Back home to pick up the spare bike, and the rest of the ride was pretty normal. Still a bit stiff from Saturday's local "century" ride; I was a mile short of a metric, which is still my longest ride of the year!
#2240
aka Tom Reingold




Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,126
Likes: 6,342
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
My commute was LONG. We spent the weekend in the country and drove down this morning instead of last night. We joined rush hour traffic, and it took two and a quarter hours. But Friday evening, I left my bike in the office, so I get to ride home tonight.
This weekend, I took a long hard ride to make sure I'm ready for Hillier Than Thou. Saturday, I rode 104 miles and climbed 5,000 feet. I think I'm ready for Sunday, which will be 63 miles and 7,000 feet.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
#2241
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 7,391
Likes: 13
From: Memphis TN area
Bikes: 2011 Felt Z85 (road/commuter), 2006 Marin Pine Mountain (utility/commuter E-bike), 1995 KHS Alite 1000 (gravel grinder)
I find it interesting that this problem tends to be worst around the equinoxes. Is there an explanation for this?
My commute was LONG. We spent the weekend in the country and drove down this morning instead of last night. We joined rush hour traffic, and it took two and a quarter hours. But Friday evening, I left my bike in the office, so I get to ride home tonight.
This weekend, I took a long hard ride to make sure I'm ready for Hillier Than Thou. Saturday, I rode 104 miles and climbed 5,000 feet. I think I'm ready for Sunday, which will be 63 miles and 7,000 feet.
My commute was LONG. We spent the weekend in the country and drove down this morning instead of last night. We joined rush hour traffic, and it took two and a quarter hours. But Friday evening, I left my bike in the office, so I get to ride home tonight.
This weekend, I took a long hard ride to make sure I'm ready for Hillier Than Thou. Saturday, I rode 104 miles and climbed 5,000 feet. I think I'm ready for Sunday, which will be 63 miles and 7,000 feet.
#2242
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 9,684
Likes: 2,602
From: northern Deep South
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
In addition to the orientation explanation, timing may be a factor. Sunrise in the morning is close to when I normally leave for work now; when Dadgum Savings Time is over I'll hit this again.
Same thing happens in the spring, only in reverse.Lucky for me, my commute is either south or west in the morning!
#2243
Senior Member

Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 1,464
From: Merrimac , MA
I did not listen very well to what you said. So today there was a very fine mist on my way to work again but with the temp at 64 f degrees it is not to chilly. Anyway today was not my favorite ride I am so done with riding in the rain. But my test for riding is the question " do you want to drive your car to go to work" and even as I sit here now and look back most likely my answer would have been no.
#2245
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 22
From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)
Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR
I took a bit of an alternate route today which goes through this one semi-busy intersection. While I was waiting for the green light, I watched a high schooler pull into the intersection hoping to turn left. It was the classic deal where it turned yellow with cars still coming and he was then stuck in the middle of the intersection with a red light. He should have just turned and gotten out of the way, but didn't. He started to back up a little, but then didn't and just sat there while the cross traffic went around behind him. I was just shaking my head as I pedaled through.
#2246
Full Member

Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 313
Likes: 19
From: Windham, NH
Bikes: Bianchi Campione, Specialized Diverge Comp E5
I did not listen very well to what you said. So today there was a very fine mist on my way to work again but with the temp at 64 f degrees it is not to chilly. Anyway today was not my favorite ride I am so done with riding in the rain. But my test for riding is the question " do you want to drive your car to go to work" and even as I sit here now and look back most likely my answer would have been no.
Well, looks like I could have squeezed in another bike commute today. The forecast for rain has moved to 5 PM.
But I also needed to catch up on my sleep. Not good when you start dozing off in meetings
#2247
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,687
Likes: 426
From: Sioux Falls, SD
Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk
Today was supposed to be sunny and nice, so I packed to ride the road bike. Woke up to fog and drizzle. But I was already packed so I decided to just take the road bike anyway.
They started last week rebuilding a section of the MUP. Unfortunately there isn't a good way around that section so the detour takes you down three of the busiest streets in town (which is why the MUP is so nice to have there.) I've ridden the detour before and it's do-able, but today I decided to skip most of the MUP and ride through the center of town. It added about 1.5 miles to my commute and I still had to deal with some traffic, but I was able to skirt the busier roads and ride a lot of residential.
Because I was riding an alternate route I caught up with [MENTION=52646]labrat[/MENTION] on his commute, who I hadn't talked to in a couple months. We rode together for about 1/2 mile, so that was cool.
They started last week rebuilding a section of the MUP. Unfortunately there isn't a good way around that section so the detour takes you down three of the busiest streets in town (which is why the MUP is so nice to have there.) I've ridden the detour before and it's do-able, but today I decided to skip most of the MUP and ride through the center of town. It added about 1.5 miles to my commute and I still had to deal with some traffic, but I was able to skirt the busier roads and ride a lot of residential.
Because I was riding an alternate route I caught up with [MENTION=52646]labrat[/MENTION] on his commute, who I hadn't talked to in a couple months. We rode together for about 1/2 mile, so that was cool.
#2248
born again cyclist
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,412
Likes: 88
From: Chicago
Bikes: I have five of brikes
after checking the radar, i thought i could beat the approaching rain, but getting the kids ready took longer than usual this morning (double damage toddlerhood is always an adventure), so i ended up leaving about 7 minutes behind schedule.
and sure enough, the last seven minutes of my ride were in the rain.
"i could have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"
and sure enough, the last seven minutes of my ride were in the rain.
"i could have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"
Last edited by Steely Dan; 09-19-17 at 08:22 AM.
#2250
aka Tom Reingold




Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,126
Likes: 6,342
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
I played it safe and took the subway home. If I had ridden bike today, I could have gotten wet on the way to work (which I wouldn't have, as it's not raining yet) but I also could get wet this evening on the way to rehearsal. It's a three-hour rehearsal, and I don't want to be wet inside for that long.
But now I'm thinking I should have taken the risk and carried clothes.
But now I'm thinking I should have taken the risk and carried clothes.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.




