Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

2018! The ?How was your commute?? thread!

Search
Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

2018! The “How was your commute?” thread!

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 04-16-18 | 08:19 PM
  #751  
Member
 
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by donnaeastman
Really? What's the name of that device you are using? I badly need one since i occasionally travel with my buddies.
I already brought 3 tracking devices for my travel but the other 2 doesn't seem to work well. Currently, I'm using Trackimo, and I can say this is really accurate and It's worth the prize. Try them!
natnatroswell22 is offline  
Reply
Old 04-16-18 | 10:33 PM
  #752  
Darth Lefty's Avatar
Disco Infiltrator
Titanium Club Membership
10 Anniversary
Community Builder
Active Streak: 30 Days
 
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 15,350
Likes: 3,551
From: Folsom CA

Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem

Totally skunked for commutes this week. Today weather, tomorrow gotta go somewhere my bike can’t take me soon enough, Wednesday is tee ball, Thursday- Friday camping trip. My new bike arrives at the REI on Thursday so I likely won’t pick it up until next Monday.
__________________
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."
Darth Lefty is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 05:01 AM
  #753  
Senior Member
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 1,546
From: Merrimac , MA
A very nice uneventful commute this am with the temp in the mid forties and mostly cloudy skies, though no rain.
essiemyra is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 05:47 AM
  #754  
Rockin' down the highway
 
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 27
Likes: 1
From: Arlington, TX

Bikes: Electra Townie 21 700cc, Trek Lexa, Catrike Trail

Newbie ride

So today was the first day I actually rode in-about 7 miles and not terribly fast. But the weather is good and my lights worked the whole way.
xyntiacat is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 06:15 AM
  #755  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 22
From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

Originally Posted by xyntiacat
So today was the first day I actually rode in-about 7 miles and not terribly fast. But the weather is good and my lights worked the whole way.
Congrats! Commuting is not about the speed. It's about getting there safely and enjoying the ride.
mgw4jc is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 06:25 AM
  #756  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 22
From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

A cold front hit last night. It was windy and chilly yesterday, but a decent 55F when I got off work (had to drive yesterday), but dropped to 30F by this morning. I pulled out the mittens, balaclava, jacket and tights for this morning's ride. This afternoon's high will be back up to 67, and I won't even need light gloves or a long-sleeve shirt.
mgw4jc is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 07:23 AM
  #757  
Tundra_Man's Avatar
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,693
Likes: 444
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

20°F this morning. Still plenty of snow left from the 14" we received over the weekend. I took the winter bike with studded tires assuming there would be lots of ice like yesterday. I was surprised: most of it was gone. Really only my final 1.5 miles had any noticeable ice.

I did have one sort of close call during that last 1.5 miles. I was coming across an intersection. There was a frozen windrow left by the plows jutting out into my path. It was probably 2 feet high. I should have just gone around it like the other vehicles, but heard my inner Evel Knievel calling. It was too high and my bike too heavy for me to bunny hop the whole thing, but I figured I could two-hop it by getting some momentum and hopping up towards the top, and then hopping again over the rest of it. It all went as planned until I hopped off the top and realized I was going to come down on a big patch of sheet ice. That's a bit much for even studded tires. I landed and slid sideways and somehow managed to come to a stop while staying on my feet. Unhurt, but definitely looked like a doofus to the cars passing in the other lane (where I should have been to avoid the obstacle.)

More snow still in the forecast for later today. Right now it sounds like it will hold off until after dark tonight, then we should get about 5" more by tomorrow noon.
Tundra_Man is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 08:36 AM
  #758  
arsprod's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,043
Likes: 17
From: Indianapolis

Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral

A lovely 31 degree Spring morning. A promise of Spring temps this afternoon... we'll see!
arsprod is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 08:49 AM
  #759  
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 9,694
Likes: 2,616
From: northern Deep South

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mom told us when we were kids to be grateful for small blessings.


So when there's frost on the cars (when the predicted low was 36F), I'm grateful I don't have to scrape the bike's non-existent windshield. And the wind had abated, after the 25-30 mph gusts on the way home last night. Cloudless sky, bright sun, nice ride.


Nice ride until I did the litter pickup with the bike tire thing. One self-tapping screw right through my rear tire. It took me almost 15 minutes to fix the flat. Without glueless patches in the saddle bag the tube needed to be replaced. And despite the discussion a couple weeks ago, this was a tube I hadn't dusted with talc. As a result, every square inch of tube needed to be peeled away from the tire. Plus the screw was gripping the tire + tube so hard I couldn't pull it straight out, so I had to unscrew the dadgum thing.


As I rolled off, finally, I was thinking: well, it was easy to find what caused the flat, and I was lucky it was a Philips head screw and there was a bit for that on the multi-tool on this bike. But those are small blessings.
pdlamb is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 09:20 AM
  #760  
GATC
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,860
Likes: 213
From: south Puget Sound
40F, bit of sun
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
sunrise 2018-04-17.jpg (179.3 KB, 67 views)
HardyWeinberg is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 09:40 AM
  #761  
noglider's Avatar
aka Tom Reingold
Titanium Club Membership
15 Anniversary
Community Builder
Community Influencer
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,338
Likes: 6,637
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

Cold and windy. But my face is totally acclimated to being cold, and the rest of me was fine. I checked the wind map, and it showed that I would have a crosswind that might feel like a tail wind. Heading west on W 11 St, I had a headwind, and I realized this was probably good. I turned north (or really, north-northest) onto the path which is the majority of my route, and yes, I had a tailwind. In the morning! How about that!

Population on the path was light. People still avoid the cold weather, and that's nice for me. I notice that those who rode in my direction tend not to take advantage of the tailwind. I pedaled pretty hard, so our margin of speed was big. It's fun to go fast when possible.

The people who let their dogs off leash in a certain area of Riverside Park are watching to see if I'm a danger (I'm not) or if their dog threatens me, and they do not. I enjoy seeing them. The dog owners let off leash only the dogs who are trustworthy. Sometimes I'll see an owner with a dog on leash and another off leash, and it means that they are judicious owners.
__________________
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.
noglider is offline  
Reply
Old 04-17-18 | 11:53 PM
  #762  
surak's Avatar
Senior Member
5 Anniversary
 
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,100
Likes: 811
From: Seattle

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Obed Boundary, Canyon Inflite AL SLX, Ibis Ripley AF, Priority Continuum Onyx, Santana Vision, Kent Dual-Drive Tandem

I crashed Friday evening, luckily the only damage to my bike was a bent rear derailleur hanger. Got that fixed and bike tuned up today, my road rash feels a lot better, and the forecast is for 0 inches of rain tomorrow (not that I totally believe it), so I'm looking forward to getting back on the saddle.
surak is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 05:02 AM
  #763  
Senior Member
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 1,546
From: Merrimac , MA
Originally Posted by surak
I crashed Friday evening, luckily the only damage to my bike was a bent rear derailleur hanger.
Glad to hear you were not hurt to bad in your crash

The commute in this am was a very nice uneventful ride with the temp at 34 f degrees and partly cloudy skies. Also the sun is now rising before six am, so it is light when I am leaving at 5:30.
essiemyra is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 07:23 AM
  #764  
noglider's Avatar
aka Tom Reingold
Titanium Club Membership
15 Anniversary
Community Builder
Community Influencer
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,338
Likes: 6,637
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

Last night I had a cold wind in my face and only a summer hat on.

This morning, it was colder than yesterday, so I wore my winter hat. Much better. Yesterday's west wind is still blowing. (Does that make sense?) I had an even bigger boost on the way to work this morning, and I moved really fast. Fun. Maybe tonight I'll prefer to take an inland route. I rarely do, because traffic is a b*tch.
__________________
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.
noglider is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 07:55 AM
  #765  
Tundra_Man's Avatar
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,693
Likes: 444
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

28F, 15 mph headwind and 2" of snow on the ground with it still coming down. Somebody bump the needle 'cause I think the record is skipping.

With the prediction of snow for this morning, I got up a 1/2 hour early so I could hit the road before traffic got too bad and knowing that I would be going slow through the unplowed accumulation. I was in the garage putting on my helmet when my wife came out and asked me to drive my son to school because she didn't want to be out in this weather. So I got in my truck and drove my son the 3 miles to school, then drove back home. It was a good reminder as to why I don't drive a car in rush hour traffic. Ugh.

Once I was back home I parked the truck and got on the bicycle for the ride to work. Wound up being about 1/2 an hour late, but most everyone driving was also walking in late as well so it wasn't a huge deal.

Tundra_Man is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 08:23 AM
  #766  
arsprod's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,043
Likes: 17
From: Indianapolis

Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral

Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
28F, 15 mph headwind and 2" of snow on the ground with it still coming down. Somebody bump the needle 'cause I think the record is skipping.
I feel like complaining about the weather and then see your pics and think twice... but I'll complain anyway!! Still waiting for the promised warmup, 34F this morning so only 2 degrees warmer. Yesterday's "near 50" was more like low 30's. Today the forecast is 60 with slight chance of rain which based on recent history means 45 and thunderstorms.

I'm starting to see a trickle of the usual fair weather riders getting back to commuting but they almost universally seem to be geared up for what the weather should be rather than what it is. I'm wearing layers and they're riding in shorts. Mind over matter?
arsprod is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 08:49 AM
  #767  
wphamilton's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 15,278
Likes: 342
From: Alpharetta, GA

Bikes: Nashbar Road

It was a 40° temperature swing from morning to afternoon yesterday, about 35° today. I'm either dressed lightly and a little cold in the morning, or else carrying extra clothes home with me. [MENTION=322871]arsprod[/MENTION] that's why I'd sometimes be in shorts and jersey on a cold morning, not mind over matter but just to have an unladen ride in the glorious warm sunshine on the way home.
wphamilton is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 09:50 AM
  #768  
GATC
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,860
Likes: 213
From: south Puget Sound
36F, pea soup fog. Took a detour, 12 mile route vs 6.5 standard. Doing an organized ride 12 May.
HardyWeinberg is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 10:27 AM
  #769  
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 9,694
Likes: 2,616
From: northern Deep South

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Like [MENTION=227213]wphamilton[/MENTION], we had a huge warm-up yesterday, about 45F here. It didn't cool off much last night, so started off around 60 and warmed up quickly. Wind also came up quickly...


I stopped by primary care physician to learn all is well, then ran a short-ish errand, and then faced the 20+ mph wind gusts from the west getting to work. Sunny, warm, windy; well, two nice factors out of three.
pdlamb is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 10:48 AM
  #770  
arsprod's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,043
Likes: 17
From: Indianapolis

Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral

Originally Posted by wphamilton
It was a 40° temperature swing from morning to afternoon yesterday, about 35° today. I'm either dressed lightly and a little cold in the morning, or else carrying extra clothes home with me. [MENTION=322871]arsprod[/MENTION] that's why I'd sometimes be in shorts and jersey on a cold morning, not mind over matter but just to have an unladen ride in the glorious warm sunshine on the way home.
Glad you can tolerate that, I can't! I just bring another set of riding clothes
arsprod is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 11:53 AM
  #771  
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 9,694
Likes: 2,616
From: northern Deep South

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Originally Posted by arsprod
Glad you can tolerate that, I can't! I just bring another set of riding clothes


Big weather swings are easier at the beginning of the week. Shoes or snacks come in one pannier and stay at work all week, and that afternoon the now-otherwise-empty pannier has jacket, tights, wool t-shirt, etc.
pdlamb is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 01:06 PM
  #772  
wphamilton's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 15,278
Likes: 342
From: Alpharetta, GA

Bikes: Nashbar Road

Originally Posted by arsprod
Glad you can tolerate that, I can't! I just bring another set of riding clothes
I'm not riding "cold" this year though, I'm just using street clothes in the morning and riding clothes back.
wphamilton is offline  
Reply
Old 04-18-18 | 01:23 PM
  #773  
surak's Avatar
Senior Member
5 Anniversary
 
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,100
Likes: 811
From: Seattle

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Obed Boundary, Canyon Inflite AL SLX, Ibis Ripley AF, Priority Continuum Onyx, Santana Vision, Kent Dual-Drive Tandem

Originally Posted by essiemyra
Glad to hear you were not hurt to bad in your crash

The commute in this am was a very nice uneventful ride with the temp at 34 f degrees and partly cloudy skies. Also the sun is now rising before six am, so it is light when I am leaving at 5:30.
Thank you. People have said to me, it's good that nothing's broken. I've realized that's not quite true -- my sense of invincibility definitely has been.

Got out this morning, felt a little out of sync but got into a rhythm. Surprised to see my first leg set Strava PRs, until I put them into stravawindanalysis.com and saw that they were heavily wind-assisted. I stopped before the last big hill to help a cyclist looking for how to get to the 520 Bridge Trail entrance. Just two months ago I got terribly lost my first time trying to ride back, so I'm hoping my directions helped him out.
surak is offline  
Reply
Old 04-19-18 | 06:45 AM
  #774  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 22
From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

A nice ride in this morning. I think low 60s and low humidity is about the perfect conditions for riding. Shorts, short sleeve top, just right. Although the wind could have been in a more favorable direction. Odd thing is we aren't supposed to get much warmer today. Yesterday was 80+, today only about 67 for the high.

Happy Friday Eve!
mgw4jc is offline  
Reply
Old 04-19-18 | 07:39 AM
  #775  
noglider's Avatar
aka Tom Reingold
Titanium Club Membership
15 Anniversary
Community Builder
Community Influencer
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,338
Likes: 6,637
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

Hard! My normal morning headwind returned today. And I had a box on my front rack, adding a lot to my frontal area in the worst possible way. Yesterday, I think I had my fastest time into work, and today, I think I had my slowest. One saving grace was that the wind wasn't shifty or gusty, just steady. But hard! But really, I'm not complaining. Like most of my rides, I enjoyed it.

It's still windy and cold here in NYC, but some people are dressing for the season, not the day, wearing things like short sleeve shirts, no over clothes, no hat, no gloves. I don't get cold as easily as some people, but I would be cold if I dressed like that in this weather. Maybe they're not going as far.

__________________
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.
noglider is offline  
Reply


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

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