Phamilton

I haven’t commuted since Wednesday. I worked from home Thursday due to storms and shop was closed for Good Friday. It’s been raining basically non stop since Thursday.
I put flat bars back on my daily bike but haven’t ridden much on it yet. I don’t know which bike I will take to work on Monday but will probably be the hybrid since I have a full load of luggage. But maybe I can put the rear rack back on the Voyageur and see how it does fully loaded. It’s nice to feel spoiled for choice after riding the same bike daily since November, how ever many months or miles that is. Edit: I’ve been thinking for quite a while that it would be nice to have a couple bikes for commuting, a fast, light, nimble one for fair weather and a big cushy truck for hauling and not so fair weather. Be curious to know if anybody else has done this.

hagenandeggs

Currently between bicycles, but once my Brompton arrives I'll be commuting like a mad man!!!!

noglider 

Many of us do that, for exactly those reasons. You can have a fun ride on a light bike that can't do much when the weather is good and you don't have to carry much. Then have a slow ride on a bike that can take a beating and carry stuff when you have to or when the weather makes things rough.

Phamilton

@noglider, I got a little taste of it today. I was on both bikes for a total of about 4 hours today. My kid asked me to go for a ride this evening and I didn’t want to say no but I’d already done at least 40 miles and then have to ride to work in the morning with a full load, laptop and all. My knees were feeling just a little thrashed but sitting back down on the hybrid was so nice after the rather spirited ride on the Voyageur. That’s the bike I need some days, I don’t always feel like I have the energy for drops and tall gears. Especially not carrying weight. When it’s windy. Or raining. Etc.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive commute number 741:

Steady rain, 45F and a strong headwind. But the MUP was back open, so that made my route a little shorter and much less hectic than the route I've ridden for the last month. River is still really high, but now showing signs that it's finally receding almost six weeks after the flood. There was only one portion of the MUP that was still underwater (on my route) but it was so short that I just slowed down and rode through it. Some muddy spots too where it's obvious that it had been underwater recently.

When I arrived at work one of the maintenance guys looked at me and said, "I know you think it's no big deal for you to ride in the rain, but I think you're crazy." I smiled and replied, "Well, I'm crazy regardless of whether or not I ride in the rain."

Skipjacks

Today was one of those 'why can't the weather be like this every day' kind of days.

The kind when you're mad when you get to work because it means the bike ride is over.

GORGEOUS today

oldgeezerjeff

Nice ride in this morning. About 60 degrees with a 12 to 15 MPH south wind. My 14.5 mile route is mostly East (to) and West (from), so a North or South wind does not hurt me too much. There is one section of the commute that is almost directly South and, even though some of it is downhill, I have been in a South wind where I had to pedal, going downhill, in a lower gear just to maintain forward momentum.
Here in the DFW metroplex, you have to learn to like the wind because it seems like it is always blowing about 12 to 15 MPH and often faster than that.

robertorolfo

As Noglider said, I think most of us have multiple bikes for multiple roles. My Lotus Unique has eyelets for fenders, so I put a set on and that's what gets ridden when there is rain or a forecast of rain. The selection in dry conditions has to do with destination, expected road conditions (pavement quality...), and often security; as in, is there a safe place to bring the bike inside, or lock it up?

I think it helps with motivation, and it's always cool to switch to a different bike after a little while and notice all of the differences.

mgw4jc

A very nice morning at about 52F for my ride in. I had worked on Good Friday and instead had yesterday off, but now back to normal schedules.

And with a nice, sunny day off yesterday I took the time to clean my bike which had a couple of recent rainy or wet road rides on it.

Tundra_Man 

Well, my consecutive work commute streak most likely comes to an end after today. I've ridden to work seven hundred forty two times in a row without driving. The last time I drove to work was Feb 10th, 2016.

Tomorrow I go in for my open heart surgery to get a new aortic valve. I will probably be cleared to return to work before I am cleared to get back on a bike, which is why I think my bicycle commute streak will end.

My last commute for a while was gorgeous. 38F with no clouds and no wind. The river is back up above flood stage due to yesterday's rains, so some of the MUP was underwater and I had to take some detours. After six weeks of living with the flood I notice I no longer even blink when I have to take a detour due to water; it's just become a regular part of life.

I'm planning on riding my bicycle to my open heart surgery appointment, if for no other reason than I've never heard of anyone doing that before.

OhLylo

Best of luck, dude. We're all thinking good thoughts for you!

OhLylo

I haven't ridden yet this week because my brakes and shifters have been all taken apart since my bar swap. I've been busy so I'm just finishing up the new cabling. Hopefully it will be done tonight and ready to ride again tomorrow.

HardyWeinberg

52F, muggy, gray blech, so much sweat

Skipjacks

So different today. Normally I have a 15 minute ride through the suburbs.

Today I was doing some charity work near a MUP trail. So I said "I'll just ride there!" and got an hour long early morning chilly commute (so no sweat!) along an almost empty trail with all the birds and bunnies and everything out and about.

Stuff like that is good for the soul

Phamilton

Good. I think this two bike idea is a good one. And I think lowering the saddle height was good. It's been a little over a week, and I'm not fighting against my flexibility limits when I stretch, it seems like I'm getting more limber. It's not uncomfortable to hop on either bike anymore, whether it's first thing in the morning or after I've already put in the day's commuting miles. I rode the Voyageur today. I had a good tailwind on the ride into work and managed to ride for a few miles in 50/14 combo. It's a faster bike than my hybrid. I made it door to door in 45 minutes including a 5 minute stop at the same perceived effort that would take me an hour on the hybrid. The hybrid is really pretty good up to about 16 or 17 mph. The Voyageur feels like it comes alive at about 15.

DiabloScott

Friend of mine rode his bicycle to his vasectomy surgery . We planned that I would give him a ride home in my car and put his bike on my roof rack.


I've been getting lazy and driving too much... today was a good bike commute day though - warm with a tail wind. I always mark my commutes as private on Strava because who the hell wants to see that in their feed all the time? But I'll share it with you guys.



Yes, my bike's name is Bruce.

noglider 

I wish you well, @Tundra_Man. We will be thinking of you. As soon as you can, please let us how the surgery goes.

mgw4jc

Loving the spring mornings. About 62F - warm enough for shorts and short sleeves. Got in a couple of extra miles for more than 15 total. I seem to be averaging a bit faster this week for some reason. A tail wind on the way home yesterday helped get me to 17mph avg.

pdlamb

I made it almost all the way through tree pollen season, then the pecans got me over the weekend. After a day and a half off sick, I'm back on the bike but taking it easy. Cool, calm, clear. And I've got more pecan pollen in my eyes.

I trim my commutes (work and home ends), and post the middle as semi-private (friends and followers) on Strava. It's mostly political; one of the bicycle advocates in town, when she does a similar ride, does some crazy (IMHO) stuff to avoid two traffic lights. EVERY time I've tried her route, I end up waiting for the traffic of the Long Light coming the way I prefer while standing at a stop sign. Since I bike commute with the GPS on more than most other cyclists, our town's heat map has a heavy line showing my commute.

I AM traffic, so why shouldn't I ride like it? It's a marked bike route, there's 5 lanes for about 2.5 lanes' worth of traffic -- they can get around me, and I'm very rarely delaying anyone (there's too many lights that stop them after they pass me).

RidingMatthew

i hear you a little faster for me today and getting warmer every day!

Steely Dan

i've been off the bike all week because of a gout attack that struck over the weekend.

and it's been utterly gorgeous riding weather here in chicago. super-bummed.

fingers crossed for a friday ride, but next week is more likely.


f--- gout!

Kedish

First commute this year. Rode 11 miles to work and feel awsome. Oh yeah. Just gotta keep this up.

Darth Lefty 

Round trip on the trike yesterday. Leaned the seat back another two notches and shortened the boom half a size. That's been good the last two times but I may go back this time, feels like I'm having to hold up my head now. I'm enjoying the thing but it's much different than a bicycle. In some ways it's more comfortable - like an easy chair with nothing to cause saddle pain. But in other ways it's less comfortable. The seat stays transmit bumps right to my shoulder blades. At the same time it's impossible to bunny hop and the width and three tracks make it hard to avoid debris. Sort of like being the stoker on a tandem. I can see why some of the fancier models as well as recumbent 2-wheelers have rear suspension... if you tried to suspend the seat you'd bounce your head around and screw up the pedaling. And it' slow! Lots of possible reasons. Small wheels, one extra wheel, chain tube and idler, aerodynamics, etc. OTOH I'm getting better at putting power into it. I can't stand on the pedals obviously but I am braced by the seat so I can mash hard. That's important if I find myself starting off uphill in a high gear. Meanwhile surgery recovery is still going well. Pretty much only sore at the end of the day if I really over-do it, and symptoms vastly improved, if not perfect.

mgw4jc

Not biking related, but yesterday at lunch I walked to the shopping center for a couple of snack supplies (and 50% off Easter candy!). On my way back I was passing the front of a Kohl's department store and a guy comes running out, barely missing me and head going back and forth like he's looking for somebody. I stopped to avoid being tackled. My first thought was that somebody had walked out and left one of their purchases or something. Then I saw a police car come around the corner of the building, lights on and then made a short siren sound. I watch him go by and all of a sudden there are 3 more police cars. A couple of ladies were stopped and quickly put in handcuffs. The running guy and a few other employees who had come out of the store were all watching.

After seeing 4 police cars and one on a motorcycle show up that fast, I assume they had to have some forewarning. The two ladies were not even 50 feet from the entrance when the cops showed up. They were probably watching them, saw them pocket something and just had to see them exit the store before apprehending.

Nice ride in today. Had to stop at the store for a book of stamps on the way in. No police incidents.

Darth Lefty 

Spare a prayer for Tundra Man today. Even if it went great, it's still not a good time.