Bike Forums

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

essiemyra 11-09-17 06:01 AM

This morning's commute was a nice chilly 25 f degrees when I left the house with dark clear skies. There was frost on the grass which was very pretty looking. I left at the usual time this morning instead of leaving later as I did yesterday. I did not feel as if there was any benefit to arriving at work in the light. Also I felt like there were more cars at the later time.

rhm 11-09-17 06:19 AM

A doe ran across the road in front of me this morning, and the buck that was following her stopped just as he was crossing the sidewalk. Thanks, Bucky!
I do not want to get hit by any deer, much less one with antlers.

I've been seeing a lot more deer since Daylight Saving Time ended. Odd.

esmith2039 11-09-17 07:03 AM

Mid 30's but the wind chill was supposed to be in the 20's.. sure didn't feel like it! Got a bit warm. Couldn't wear my long tights this morning so had to improvise.. bike shorts with active pants over it. That combo works alot better!

locolobo13 11-09-17 07:24 AM

Almost ran into a salmon this morning. Weaving in and out of my lane, too busy reading his phone to watch where he was going. I had to move way to the left of the traffic lane to avoid him. I may have muttered something bad as we passed. At least he had a light.

mgw4jc 11-09-17 07:35 AM

Drizzly ride home yesterday. The temperature went up maybe one degree from the morning low of 45F.
Drizzly rain continued through the night, but mostly stopped for my morning commutes - just wet roads.
I think tomorrow is supposed be clear, but we'll see.

My mileage for the week is higher than normal which is helping with my annual goal. But now my wife just texted and said she'll be near the office at 5 and could pick me up. I can't say no, but, "Doh!"

jrickards 11-09-17 08:04 AM

Reasonable temperature today, -1C/30F, mild, if any breeze (I didn't notice it). Decided not to dress lightly this morning as the temps will be falling through the day to an afternoon low of -5C/23F and an overnight low of -16C/3F (but with the wind forecast for tonight, a windchill of -26C/-15F). Tomorrow morning's ride in at about 7am is forecast be a balmy -14C/7F with a windchill of -21C/-6F: I'll probably put on a couple of extra layers tomorrow. The forecasted temperature for tomorrow afternoon's ride home is higher than today, -4C/25F so it is just a sudden drop in temp tonight.

Keep warm people!

Tundra_Man 11-09-17 08:14 AM

18°F with a very cold north wind. Brrrr. But I made it the 8 miles to the office without issue. (EDIT: Just saw that the wind chill was -5°F. No wonder I was so cold!)

Arrived to discover I left my shaving kit at home. I keep my towel and shampoo at my desk, so I decided I could at least wash myself. Managed to drop the shampoo bottle directly on my big toe while showering. Then I managed to drop my fingernail clippers into the toilet.

The day can only go upward from here, right?

arsprod 11-09-17 08:30 AM


Originally Posted by Tundra_Man (Post 19981951)
The day can only go upward from here, right?

Mine just did, thanks for the laugh! 29F this morning and low 50's predicted for this afternoon. After doing this for a few years I should realize trying to dress for both (taking of layers for warmer) doesn't work and I end up being cold in the morning and hot in the evening. I don't... realize

FargoRider 11-09-17 09:01 AM

We had about another 1 1/2'' of snow last night so most trails and streets were covered fluffy white. Temp was at 5°F with a North wind making the windchill -9°F. I was geared up fine so I didn't get cold, but the snow and riding into the wind on the fat bike does slow me down. I could feel the burn in my legs a bit.

My ride into the office is pretty much a South to North direction, so the ride home will feel better (I kept reminding myself of this). Overall a nice ride, and it felt good gliding into my parking spot.

55murray 11-09-17 09:35 AM

it will be another month for me to get to that level of weather [MENTION=458315]FargoRider[/MENTION]! So for me, coldest ride of the season at 27F, but I had the time so I took the road bike on a 10 mile loop instead of the usual 3 miles in. Rode pretty hard, and you all guesed it, overdressed! More sweat then if I had done it at 70F.

FargoRider 11-09-17 09:43 AM


Originally Posted by 55murray (Post 19982115)
it will be another month for me to get to that level of weather @FargoRider! So for me, coldest ride of the season at 27F, but I had the time so I took the road bike on a 10 mile loop instead of the usual 3 miles in. Rode pretty hard, and you all guesed it, overdressed! More sweat then if I had done it at 70F.

Yeah, we're only supposed to reach 15° for the high today. The average is 45°, so it's even early for us to be this cold so soon.

I guess a warming trend is on it's way with temps back into the 40s for next week. If so, I'll be switching bikes. I love the fatty, but it's a bit of a load as a daily commuter. :p

jrickards 11-09-17 10:09 AM


Originally Posted by FargoRider (Post 19982132)
Yeah, we're only supposed to reach 15° for the high today. The average is 45°, so it's even early for us to be this cold so soon.

I guess a warming trend is on it's way with temps back into the 40s for next week. If so, I'll be switching bikes. I love the fatty, but it's a bit of a load as a daily commuter. :p

I don't know where you are but here in Sudbury Ontario, we're experiencing a short cold snap today and tonight but slightly above normal is forecast for the next few days afterwards.

FargoRider 11-09-17 10:20 AM


Originally Posted by jrickards (Post 19982194)
I don't know where you are but here in Sudbury Ontario, we're experiencing a short cold snap today and tonight but slightly above normal is forecast for the next few days afterwards.

Fargo, ND. I googled Sudbury, and I'm directly west of you by about 850 miles or so.

pdlamb 11-09-17 10:20 AM

Nice ride today. Cooler than it's been (dug the tights back out and added a jacket), but there was sunshine! After three days of that front creeping through, some real daylight cheered me up.

jrickards 11-09-17 10:23 AM


Originally Posted by FargoRider (Post 19982224)
Fargo, ND. I googled Sudbury, and I'm directly west of you by about 850 miles or so.

Wow, you're almost stone, I mean, snowball throwing distance away! LOL

Yeah, might not be the same weather system affecting both of us.

55murray 11-09-17 10:27 AM


Originally Posted by FargoRider (Post 19982132)
Yeah, we're only supposed to reach 15° for the high today. The average is 45°, so it's even early for us to be this cold so soon.

I guess a warming trend is on it's way with temps back into the 40s for next week. If so, I'll be switching bikes. I love the fatty, but it's a bit of a load as a daily commuter. :p

My policy is when the first snow or ice falls that they dump a ton of salt for, the summer bikes get stored and it is the MTB until nearly April. I really got into road riding this year though and it is going to be really hard to do that this time around.

HardyWeinberg 11-09-17 10:33 AM

1 Attachment(s)
42F, wet. Fortuitously between rainsqualls though.

wphamilton 11-09-17 10:55 AM

Strange morning for me. Light rain here, somehow I'd dressed in my office clothes and put on a wind breaker thinking the temps would be about right. I saw the rain and went back in for warm-up pants and shoe covers. Outside in the breezeway again, I had second thoughts and went back for some light gloves. Then I'd forgotten my door keys, went back in to look, and of course they were in my pants pocket. Finally on the road, I figured after that start I'd probably either get soaked or have forgotten something important, but all was well other than getting warm and sweating a little.

noglider 11-09-17 11:16 AM

[MENTION=73614]rhm[/MENTION], I call November Deer-smooshed-on-the-road month. I don't know, but maybe it's mating season? I think it's also hunting season. Anyway, I think I see more deer in November than any other month.

Today's commute was HOT! I am definitely going to make myself a chart of temperatures and clothing that works, because I overdressed. I wanted to ride hard today, but I could only do it in short spurts, because I was too hot. Actual temperature was about 45ºF, and the wind was unusually calm.

I wore my new winter gloves for the first time. So far, they seem warm enough, but they are extremely stiff. Shifting gears was a bit slow, and braking required learning a new technique, but I think I'm safe.

Doing deadlifts in my bedroom before riding is extremely energizing. I need to add weights to my barbell to get to the next level.

timvan_78 11-09-17 03:39 PM

I went for a mountain bike ride in the snow in the mountains the other day (FUN!) but the commutes have been snow/frost free so far.

Today I brought my poor old car in to the shop on a recall repair, so i only biked part of the way in, but it got me up to 4500kms on the "year-to-date" commute. That was my original target for 2017, so that's good.

Darth Lefty 11-09-17 04:25 PM

I was in DC briefly today and visited the National Gallery and the sculpture garden. From a bike perspective it looked like a mixed bag. Cycling infrastructure was mostly an afterthought but there was both a city bike share and the private app rental bikes. I guess you mostly either ride on the sidewalk or ride with the cars.

Further down in Manassas, VA where I was working Tues-Weds, it seemed like a cycling hellhole. Just travel lanes all the way across ending with a hard curb, no shoulder, bike lane, fog line... It wasn’t that nice to drive either with roads turning at random... drive a mile and wait four minutes at a light, 4 mile trips took 20 minutes. Sometimes there were left turn arrows but the waits were long, otherwise risk your life left yield on green, left turn lane sometimes totally absent, road markings pretty much invisible when wet.

SylvainG 11-09-17 07:53 PM

Came very close to a bike to bike crash this afternoon. While I was riding in a bike lane, I noticed that someone was riding toward me in my bike lane instead of using the bike lane on the other (his) side of the road. When we got closer, I saw him move to my left as if to leave me room (bike lane is narrow). So I kept going but then remembered that a bike path is crossing on my right so I stopped pedaling and got ready for emergency braking. Sure enough, he wasn't leaving me room but getting ready to veer into the bike path on my right! He crossed right in front of me!!! Had to apply my brakes hard, bike rear wheel got off the ground, yelled at him which is when he realized I was there and also took evasive action! That's the only reason we didn't hit. I guess my Cateye 800 in
mode in twilight hours wasn't enough to alert him that I was there, on the RIGHT side of the road. Cursed at him a bit, he apologized and we parted way. Second time in two months that I almost got hit by another bike because they weren't looking what they were doing.

SylvainG 11-09-17 07:55 PM

Came very close to a bike to bike crash this afternoon. While I was riding in a bike lane, I noticed that someone was riding toward me in my bike lane instead of using the bike lane on the other (his) side of the road. When we got closer, I saw him move to my left as if to leave me room (bike lane is narrow). So I kept going but then remembered that a bike path is crossing on my right so I stopped pedaling and got ready for emergency braking. Sure enough, he wasn't leaving me room but getting ready to veer into the bike path on my right! He crossed right in front of me!!! Had to apply my brakes hard, bike rear wheel got off the ground, yelled at him which is when he realized I was there and also took evasive action! That's the only reason we didn't hit. I guess my Cateye 800 in
mode (jump to 3m22s to see what it looks like) in twilight hours wasn't enough to alert him that I was there, on the RIGHT side of the road. Cursed at him a bit, he apologized and we parted way. Second time in two months that I almost got hit by another bike because they weren't looking what they were doing.

salcedo 11-09-17 09:05 PM


Originally Posted by SylvainG (Post 19983523)
Second time in two months that I almost got hit by another bike because they weren't looking what they were doing.

Cyclists are the worst! A friggin plague thats what they are

salcedo 11-09-17 09:13 PM

My commute route goes right by a small regional airport. Today on my was back a plane passed right by me on its way to landing. Felt pretty cool


mgw4jc 11-10-17 07:32 AM


Originally Posted by salcedo (Post 19983606)
My commute route goes right by a small regional airport. Today on my was back a plane passed right by me on its way to landing. Felt pretty cool

Awesome! Were you singing "Danger Zone" to yourself?

Temp here dropped enough to cause me to pull out my long tights for the first time this fall. 37F but sunny and warming to 57F. The sun made it feel pretty nice.

rhm 11-10-17 07:58 AM

Nice mild temperature at 4:45 AM, bright stars and black clouds, all very pretty.

A skunk shuffled across the road in front of me, taking his time, but far enough away that I was able to swerve behind him. Oddly, once he saw me swerving to avoid him, he hustled a bit to get away.

And then three deer ambled into the road, one after the other, also moving very slow. I yelled at them. They weren't impressed.

It has already got a lot colder than it was four hours ago!

It was already noticeably colder by the time I got to work.

esmith2039 11-10-17 08:02 AM

25 degree's and NE wind with wind chill in the upper teen's.. brrrr. And of course a train. I may need a nap today!

Tundra_Man 11-10-17 08:25 AM

17°F this morning with a steady 15 mph wind with gust to 40 mph. Brrr! Thankfully the wind direction was coming from the side so I didn't have to fight it as much. I decided to go with a long-sleeve shirt under my windbreaker, which turned out to be a wise choice.

As usual though, before I left the house when I was sitting in my living room snuggling with the cat and we were staring out the window at the cold, I was really tempted to throw in the towel, break my streak and drive. But once I was a few miles down the road it was no big deal. My toes got a little nippy but not too bad.

Consecutive work commute number 406 is in the bag.

FargoRider 11-10-17 08:35 AM

Temp was 13°F leaving this morning with a 25 mph wind (gusts of 35) pushing me all the way to the office. I'm not sure I'm ridden that fast on a 4.5 mile stretch with the fat tire bike before. :) The windchill was -3° but didn't even feel it with it pushing from behind - fun ride. :thumb:

I'll be riding directly into the wind on the way home, so I'll be getting my workout in today.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:00 AM.


Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.