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-   -   2018! The “How was your commute?” thread! (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/1131947-2018-ihow-your-commute-n-thread.html)

esmith2039 11-06-18 07:27 AM

Train this morning so a extra miles and apparently the extra light out doesn't make anyone smarter. Two stupid moves by drivers this morning.. typically only see one a week!

mgw4jc 11-06-18 07:51 AM

Wet roads again from overnight rain. And quite windy. Weatherman last night said we could have gusts to 30mph this morning. I left a bit early and was definitely slower. I also stopped for a couple of pics on the MUP. Fall colors and the wet conditions were cool looking. Then I had to hurry to make it to work on time.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6517e0a9ef.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1379554eeb.jpg

arsprod 11-06-18 07:54 AM


Originally Posted by mgw4jc (Post 20650523)
Wet roads again from overnight rain. And quite windy. Weatherman last night said we could have gusts to 30mph this morning. I left a bit early and was definitely slower. I also stopped for a couple of pics on the MUP. Fall colors and the wet conditions were cool looking. Then I had to hurry to make it to work on time.

Ooh, are those wooden planks? That's gotta be scary with wet and leaves! Wet and very windy this morning. I played chicken with a Hummer at one road crossing - guess I won because I'm still alive

mgw4jc 11-06-18 08:31 AM


Originally Posted by arsprod (Post 20650527)
Ooh, are those wooden planks? That's gotta be scary with wet and leaves!

Yep, I fell there once upon a time. I always go slow there, even when it's dry because its got a couple of tight turns too.

Tundra_Man 11-06-18 08:42 AM

Out the door early so I could swing by my polling place and vote before I rode to work. Usually if I'm there when the doors open it's a ghost town. Today I was about 15th in line and by the time I finished there were about 50 people waiting. Good to see people turning out to vote.

As a result of the line, I was about 15 minutes late getting to work. The ride to work was pretty cold. 34°F with a stiff 20 mph headwind. The last two miles were unsheltered and straight into it, so even on my road bike it was slow going. But I made it.

Last night I got my winter bicycle ready for the coming season. New rear wheel, cassette, chain and bar mitts. Went through everything else and tweaked the adjustments as necessary. Had to remove my 3rd backup headlight to make room for the bar mitts. I hardly ever used it anyway, as my 2nd backup is my helmet light. It would be a really strange development to lose two lights in a commute.https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...78bcd83782.jpg

pdlamb 11-06-18 09:41 AM

Yesterday I wrote,


Originally Posted by pdlamb (Post 20649030)
If the second half of the front comes through overnight and I get two more dry rides this evening and tomorrow morning, I shall consider myself fortunate indeed.

Today I am that lucky guy. Damp and overcast, except for 10 minutes of sunshine that lit up an albino squirrel.

After I voted, I asked the poll worker to give me the "I voted" sticker still on its backing so I could put it on my dress shirt when I got to work. He said, "You're not the first person to ask me that. You're the second." Walking out the door I thought, "Pretty soon we'll have a movement." And started singing, as I rode away, "You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant."

Tundra_Man 11-06-18 10:00 AM


Originally Posted by pdlamb (Post 20650734)
Yesterday I wrote,



Today I am that lucky guy. Damp and overcast, except for 10 minutes of sunshine that lit up an albino squirrel.

After I voted, I asked the poll worker to give me the "I voted" sticker still on its backing so I could put it on my dress shirt when I got to work. He said, "You're not the first person to ask me that. You're the second." Walking out the door I thought, "Pretty soon we'll have a movement." And started singing, as I rode away, "You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant."

And I'm over here on the Group W bench...

rhm 11-06-18 10:41 AM

No stickers at my polling location :cry:

But I saw a blue heron by the canal, and then a fox ran across the road right in front of me near the station.

Yesterday evening was my first commute home after the end of daylight saving time, so it was dark; and it was raining. Really hard to see all the potholes in the rain, with the roads wet and the street lights reflecting off the puddles. I didn't hit any, but it was a rough ride. Wish I'd spent more time memorizing all the potholes while I was still riding home in daylight!

HardyWeinberg 11-06-18 10:45 AM

45F, sunny, clammy. Had to leave work early yesterday to race home to get a car to retrieve my 8th grader and her bike who had a minor health thing precluding riding herself home. Hopefully will stay for the full 8 hrs today.

Darth Lefty 11-06-18 02:06 PM


mgw4jc 11-07-18 08:30 AM

Nice morning for a ride in. Cool at about 42F, but sunny and warming as it went. A couple of kamikaze squirrels were busy trying to store up their nut supplies.

Tundra_Man 11-07-18 08:39 AM

First real cold ride of the season. The air temp was 24F, which wasn't too bad. The 22 mph headwind made the wind chill 9F, which was cold. I definitely don't have my winter skin on yet.

Being the first Wednesday of the month we had our Bike To Work Breakfast. Six of us showed up, but only four rode. We made sure to give the two who drove to the Bike To Work Breakfast a hard time. Then at the table next to us three ladies in bike gear came in. I see them almost every morning out on the MUP. They don't ride to work but they're out every day together for exercise.

One of the participants in the breakfast brought her Trishaw. She said it was pretty tough pushing it against the wind, even with the e-assist. After the breakfast she was going to ride around downtown for a while and give homeless people rides so they can get where they need to go on this cold morning.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7e2f9ef7ea.jpg

HardyWeinberg 11-07-18 10:35 AM

40F, foggy

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f9d71301be.jpg

pdlamb 11-07-18 12:52 PM

Surprisingly nice morning. It started off clear and cool, so I dressed appropriately. Then it warmed up 10F while I was riding.

Now the clouds have come and it's raining. Hope it'll finish by quitting time!

Darth Lefty 11-07-18 01:53 PM

I’ll have a fourth day of riding this week to drop off my truck for new tires. Not really looking forward to it, tbh. I’m tired.

Chinghis 11-07-18 07:10 PM

This morning as I waited for a light to change, a car came up on my right to make a turn. No problem, there's space, I move over to expedite traffic.

But this morning, a car rolled up and paused at the light, and I hear a woman saying "Have a nice commute!" That put a nice spin on the morning. I usually feel invisible.

esmith2039 11-08-18 07:20 AM

28 degrees and supposed to snow today. Didn't bring the winter bike with the studded tires that I put on last night. Hopefully didn't shoot myself in the foot doing that.

mgw4jc 11-08-18 07:25 AM

A pleasant enough ride in this morning. Plenty of leaf crunching to be had on the MUP.

Tundra_Man 11-08-18 08:24 AM

18°F this morning, but at least the wind died down so it actually felt warmer than yesterday. Not supposed to get any warmer than about 25° today, and I have about 24 miles worth of appointments before I get home tonight.

20° is my usual cut-off for when I switch to goggles, so I put them on this morning. I'm glad I did. They're much better at keeping my eye area warm than my glasses. The only downside is there's nowhere on them to mount a Take-A-Look mirror so I have to ride mirrorless. My winter bike has a rear view mirror mounted on the handlebar, but my road bike didn't. I brought my glasses with the mirror for my rides later in the day when it will be a little warmer.

Got to try out my new winter pants. I had another pair that I've used the last few years, but I picked up a second so I wouldn't be as pressed to do laundry as often. This pair fit a little better in the waist and thigh area, but are noticeably looser around the ankles. I could feel cold air seeping in from that area. Even though I don't need them to keep the pant legs out of the chain, I may use velcro straps with these pants just to seal up the bottoms a bit better.

Forecasting about 3" of snow for tomorrow's commute, and then below freezing temps for at least the next week so it's not going to melt off. Today may be the last day on the road bike for a while.

pdlamb 11-08-18 08:25 AM

Decent enough ride, though it was sufficiently overcast that I was glad I dressed on the warm side for the temperature.

There were so many leaves down on the "bike path" that riding it was difficult. I wasn't too sure where the pavement was at some points, and the leaves covered up the cracks that I usually try to avoid. I might take the road, with the difficult hill, for a few weeks.

HardyWeinberg 11-08-18 10:40 AM

34F, overcast. Hint of mountain, though.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d01065ccad.jpg

Darth Lefty 11-08-18 10:41 AM

I’m sitting at an unopened Costco with my bike in the back of the truck, on a teleconference. I’ll ride to work while the truck gets new tires, then my wife will pick me up for lunch. Heat maps shows a bike route going from REI to Folsom high school, I’m going to try it.

Bikewolf 11-08-18 01:36 PM

Saw a rat crossing the street. They move fast!

Bikewolf 11-08-18 01:43 PM


Originally Posted by Chinghis (Post 20653227)
But this morning, a car rolled up and paused at the light, and I hear a woman saying "Have a nice commute!" That put a nice spin on the morning. I usually feel invisible.

That’s nice.
Like: When a person waves, wave back – even as that person was not waving at you specifically :-)

noglider 11-08-18 03:00 PM


Originally Posted by Bikewolf (Post 20654321)
Saw a rat crossing the street. They move fast!

Yes they do. On Tuesday night, a pair were running in a circle together, very fast. I ended up rolling fairly close to them, and then after I was past them, I realized I should have tried running over one. Then a minute later, there was another rat, so I aimed to run him over but it was too hard. Man, I hate them. The city is trying to reduce their population, but it's a tough job.


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