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

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

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Old 10-04-18 | 07:59 AM
  #1851  
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32F this morning with a light headwind. I was prepared for the worst, but really the temp wasn't bad at all. I wore the same thing I did for Monday's 45/rain commute except for a heavier pair of gloves. Wasn't cold at all.

So I managed to wind up with two bicycles at work this morning. It's a really long story but I'll edit down the details and just give the highlights. Yesterday around lunch time I suddenly started showing a lot of signs of a heart attack. I was unable to stand or be very responsive so my coworkers took charge of the situation and brought me to the ER. I spent the afternoon there and had a whole battery of tests, which all came back negative. They believe it was a stress reaction to a lot of the stuff I'm dealing with at home. But ultimately, I'm OK.

The conundrum is, my wife brought me home from the ER last night. So technically I didn't finish my commute via bicycle as I was in a car, which I wonder if it wrecks my streak of 618 days or at least puts an asterisk by it? Not sure how to count it.

My bike was left hanging on the bike rack in a secure area of the building, so I wasn't worried about it overnight. This morning I rode a different bike to work, which means I now have two of them hanging on the rack. Probably some time this weekend as we're passing near the building I'll have someone drop me off and I'll ride the other bike back home.
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Old 10-04-18 | 08:49 AM
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[MENTION=29263]tundra[/MENTION]Man, glad to hear you're (mostly?) OK. Be sure to thank your coworkers for taking care of you.

Lovely day for a bike ride here, bright -- almost to the point of sun glare -- and pleasant, right around 70F. Early morning bike riding is becoming more popular around here, I saw two other obvious bike commuters plus two others out for a morning ride. That's four above average!
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Old 10-04-18 | 03:52 PM
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Tundra_man, take it carefully with the heart stuff
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Old 10-05-18 | 06:23 AM
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Brisk morning ride today - I got an early start this morning and only saw a hand full of joggers and some rabbits. Overall a nice ride this morning.
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Old 10-05-18 | 07:36 AM
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I finally convinced one of my coworkers to ride with me so it was nice having company. 48/F and pretty chilly in shorts and a tshirt, but a good ride. Plus, we had a fox run next to us for about 10 feet, which is pretty cool.
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Old 10-05-18 | 07:47 AM
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Another gahwjus morning for a bike ride, clear, calm, and cool. Really tempted to extend the commute by a couple hours...

I came across my own unicorn: an attractive lady on a bike "commuting" on a loop before she went back home for a day of telework. She was the only other cyclist I saw this morning. Wish there were more of us!
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Old 10-05-18 | 08:00 AM
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Originally Posted by CrewFan




Brisk morning ride today - I got an early start this morning and only saw a hand full of joggers and some rabbits. Overall a nice ride this morning.
Pretty skyline. I like the design of the tall building. Where is this?
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Old 10-05-18 | 08:49 AM
  #1858  
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Early morning rain and much cooler temps. I guess it's Fall?!
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Old 10-05-18 | 11:08 AM
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I've never come to this thread, mainly because my daily commute is generally unremarkable, just 20-25 minutes on Los Angeles streets. It's not bad once you get used to it.

But, today I broke a spoke! Did my usual hammer up a little incline, and as I leveled out I noticed an occasional clicking from my rear wheel. At first I thought I picked up something on the street, and it went away after 20 feet, but then came back in the next block. Sure enough, I'd snapped a spoke. Untangled it, and mellowed out for the rest of the way. I usually ride as fast and hard as I can.

So, two things: One is that I arrived at work much less sweaty and hot than I usually am. I didn't even feel like I needed to paper-towel off.

Second thing is that I encountered an e-biker on the way, and was annoyed that my bike wasn't in condition to try and draft him. At least he acknowledged me at the lights.

Along with losing my wallet and blowing my wife's birthday, kind of topped off the week.

Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
Pretty skyline. I like the design of the tall building. Where is this?
I'm not the OP, but there's a hint in the picture. Three words, and you can locate it pretty quickly. I really should have been a detective or something.
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Old 10-05-18 | 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
Pretty skyline. I like the design of the tall building. Where is this?
As much as I want to see if anyone guesses, I'll spoil the fun - It's Columbus Ohio's skyline as you come in along the river. Cbus has spent a lot of money improving the downtown's river front and I take full advantage of it on my rides in!
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Old 10-08-18 | 04:54 AM
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The ride was a pleasant ride this am. Though not uneventful. I learned the hard way what happens when I do not charge my front light every other day. It was a dark ride after about 15 minutes. Which is not fun at five thirty am there are areas of the road that were very dark. I am going home this evening to charge the light. It is a fairly new light and I am not to happy with it because the mounting piece is more of a rubber band type. I have a hard time getting that piece disconnected and reconnected. As I am writing this I just thought maybe I should just bring a charger to the light instead of the light to the charger.
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Old 10-08-18 | 06:09 AM
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Pouring rain this morning.. loved it! The number of stupid drivers doubled this morning.
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Old 10-08-18 | 07:16 AM
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Back to the Monday. Uneventful commute. I stopped on a deserted MUP for a quick bathroom break. Really had to go and was much more comfortable after.

They're talking rain and cooler temps this week. I think I'm ready as September and last week felt quite summer-like. Someone on the Facebook said fall in the south is just like summer but with pumpkins.
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Old 10-08-18 | 08:18 AM
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Damp but not really raining. And since it is Columbus Day, not much traffic, and all the construction crews were off.
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Old 10-08-18 | 09:17 AM
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From: Sioux Falls, SD

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Saturday night at 10:30 PM we were heading home from a family get-together when I had my wife drop me off at the client's office where one of my bikes was still on the rack after Wednesday's ER trip caused me not to ride home that day. Thankfully my badge worked that late at night on a weekend and I was able to finish the commute I had started three days prior.

Friday evening on the way home I started feeling a pulse coming from the rear of the bike. The closer to home I got, the more pronounced the pulse became. When I got into my garage I threw my bike up on my repair stand and noticed that my rear tire was starting to develop a bulge in the sidewall. Glad I found it before it stranded me somewhere out on the road. I got about 3800 miles out of that tire so I can't complain too loud.

Last night I replaced the tire. The new one went on really, really hard. In fact it went on so hard that I worry that if have a flat out on the road I won't be able to fix it. In my garage I had a workbench that kept me from having to bend over for the 1/2 hour I struggled to get it mounted. I also had access to soap. Out on the road neither of these things would be readily available.

This morning was 48°F and more rain. We're only a few inches behind having the wettest year on record, with almost three months to go. Supposed to rain through Wednesday so we may hit the record before the week's end.
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Old 10-08-18 | 12:22 PM
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Commute got off to a rough start this morning as I realized, just as I was pulling in to the park I start my commute from, that I left my phone at the house... So instead of being 10 early, I was 10min late. Luckily I had time to fume about the mistake as I rode and realized the insignificane of my issue! By the time i got to the office I was back to being happy to be riding my bike to work... I even got my picture taken for the building newsletter to use in their effort to promote riding to work! Although I'm not sure an image of me with sweat pouring down my face and helmet hair will really convert anyone!
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Old 10-09-18 | 12:49 AM
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Awkward start to the day. Awoke to the sound of a serious leak in the pool filter. Lots of overnight accidents from pets and toddlers discovered. Truck battery crapped out so had to hustle out on the bike first thing rather than exchanging for it at lunch. The ride was a good break from that, but got to work and found badge was left behind in truck. Of course today was supposed to be the day they started using a new login scheme that requires the badge, but fortunately for me at least they pushed it back again.
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Old 10-09-18 | 04:47 AM
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Lucky me today is my second day in a row that I can commute by bike. This has not happened in since the beginning of September for me. I miss when I do not ride. The ride today was uneventful as I purchased a new light for the back of the bike and charged the light for the front of the bike.
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Old 10-09-18 | 06:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
Awkward start to the day. Awoke to the sound of a serious leak in the pool filter. Lots of overnight accidents from pets and toddlers discovered. Truck battery crapped out so had to hustle out on the bike first thing rather than exchanging for it at lunch. The ride was a good break from that, but got to work and found badge was left behind in truck. Of course today was supposed to be the day they started using a new login scheme that requires the badge, but fortunately for me at least they pushed it back again.
This sounds like it could be the plot of "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

Nothing exciting for my morning. Only close call was a waste management guy acted like he was going to cross the street without looking to see me coming. He didn't cross.
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Old 10-09-18 | 07:11 AM
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Heavy rain again.. no problems! The Frogg poncho works good but have to wear a bungee belt. Might look at some new rain gear before the temps drop.
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Old 10-09-18 | 07:42 AM
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Originally Posted by mgw4jc
This sounds like it could be the plot of "A Series of Unfortunate Events".
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Old 10-09-18 | 08:16 AM
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Originally Posted by esmith2039
Heavy rain again.. no problems!
Well damn, that means rain later this week for me! I worked from home yesterday. I think I could get used to that commute. Boringly pleasant this morning
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Old 10-09-18 | 09:40 AM
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Yesterday and today, the weather has been misty. The rain hasn't been falling; it's been standing in suspension in mid-air. The temperature is mild, and this precipitation isn't the least bit unpleasant. I think it might have a mild cooling effect, which I welcome.

Today in traffic, there was a guy riding an Omnium cargo bike, carrying a heavy load. This design bike is fast and agile. It looks so easy to ride. I'm seeing these increasingly. Very cool.

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Old 10-09-18 | 09:50 AM
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The weather was fine, low 70s, partly cloudy. The bike was rolling well, despite the first-day-of-the-week load (after Columbus Day yesterday). The rider was feeling old, slow, and stiff -- thank goodness for a job, otherwise I'd still be working on the honey-do list today!
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Old 10-09-18 | 11:16 AM
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I took a chance on the "closed for repairs" Greenway this morning, figuring that following the pattern most local construction sites, repair crews have had enough time to park some equipment, put two signs up, and abandon it for whatever it is they do after that part. I think that I'll have it to myself for at least the rest of this week (since the next 2 days are rainy and the workers won't be out there) until the other commuters and morning riders figure it out.
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