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Car commute today, as it's supposed to rain in the late afternoon (above 35% chance) and 10-20% chance of rain all day. Also, my legs are cooked from the last three days' worth of riding. I put in another 16 miles last night on the single speed at a good clip and cooked them even more.
The high temperature will be 30 °F lower than yesterday. Low 40s instead of Low 70s. I hate to say it, but I needed a day off the bike. No regrets though; I can feel my legs getting stronger. |
I debated with myself this morning. Last night I was super tired and wondered if I'm pushing myself too hard, not so much with the riding but with everything else. I had a huge interruption in my sleep in the night, and I have many stops to make throughout the day. I decided to ride anyway.
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That's the spirit Tom!
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32F and clear, supposed to be a downpour. Clouds, could be snow, in the foothills at least. No black ice on streets/trails I use, fortunately. Nice sunrise on the trail!
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a441b80f4d.jpg |
Ah, I have been off-line but not off the commute. This morning still too warm for Colorado but I will take it. And oh, nice and dark. I like riding in when it is dark and quiet, heading home in the sun after work. Last week a little slush and snow one morning only, then the weekend commute for groceries was awesome. I love riding to Boulder on back roads, to a town with a myriad of bike paths, to get groceries, etc., while avoiding the hell-hole of traffic and lack of parking that has become this town. Recently at an intersection near my daily work commute a 75 year-old cyclist was killed, run over by a dump truck. I'm not sure how this could have been avoided as I don't know the details, but for sure this part of the county is becoming more traffic dense. This was a reminder for me to keep my head on a swivel. https://www.denver7.com/news/front-r...dump-truck-csp
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Originally Posted by Smaug1
"Nice & warm this morning: 45 °F"
Originally Posted by TundraMan
DST is kicking my butt a bit.
Every once in a while, I come across what seems like ALL of the Black-Crowned Night Herons on the river gathered in one place. Today there were 9 (including a couple of juveniles), and there was at least one more out of the frame. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2fe8e9c464.jpg Getting ready for a long day of foraging. |
After riding my heaviest bike Monday, I packed the light backpack and grabbed my 2nd lightest bike, the '84 Nishiki International 12-speed. 39F and high overcast (warmish for me) It was a little faster, but felt a lot faster because of the chatty, skinny 700x28 tires. For the last couple of years everytime I ride it I think I want to get some lower low gears. But this morning I hit an uphill bridge I usually grind up but with the lighter bike and bag I was able to stand up in the saddle and hustle the bike up the bridge and the walkway on the other side.
On the way home I left at 5:10 with plenty of sunshine and 66F. Everything just felt good and I was feeling grateful everything on the bike was working trouble-free....big mistake. A few minutes later the Airzound Air horn came loose. I was so angry since the mount on the Rockhopper broke last week. I had ordered replacement mounts (not cheap) but two of them broke before I could use them. So when I stopped to look I was relieved that it was the horn itself. I have two of those sitting on a shelf in the shed. When I got home I grabbed one, but it was missing the trigger...ugh. But I was able to transplant the trigger from the broken horn and all is well. Also, while I still had light I changed a brake light in our 2019 Kia Sedona Minivan. We've had the van three years and this is the 5th brake light I've had to change I think the third on the driver's side. All the bikes seem to be riding easier lately. It could be me, but it's probably the warmer weather loosening up the grease and such. |
Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2308:
Today was supposed to be windy, slightly below freezing at 28°F in the morning, and about 40°F for the ride home. They were correct on all of that (well, I'm assuming they will be correct on the evening temp later today.) What they did not predict was snow. Before bed I had packed everything for the road bike. When I got up and looked out the window, the ground was covered in about 1/4" of snow. Hmmm... was not expecting that. The snow appeared to be collecting on the grass, with the pavement mostly clear. I briefly considered just riding the road bike anyway, but then decided against it. So I did a transplant of all my stuff out of my backpack and into my pannier bag. I suppose I could have still worn the backpack, but I digress. I wound up taking the winter bike with studded tires. I'm very glad I did. Once I traveled beyond what I could see out of my windows, there was a lot of sheet ice on the pavement. All the snow had melted on the warm pavement, and then froze solid once the pavement dropped below freezing. I took my time riding and didn't have any trouble. The headwind was stout, so that slowed me down as well. I went up to the hospital and visited my friend who had been in a bicycle crash on Sunday. He had surgery on his right shoulder on Monday, and surgery on his left wrist yesterday. He gave me the skinny on how the crash happened: He was riding his eBike, using the throttle (as mentioned, he's not really a "cyclist" but can't afford a car.) While he was riding he decided he wanted a cigarette, which was in his throttle-side pocket. He reached over with his opposite hand to keep the throttle engaged while his normal throttle hand was reaching for the cigarettes. (Note to everyone in the world: do not try this.) He said the next thing he knew was that the handlebars went sideways and he went over the top of them. I was reminded of the second dumbest thing I ever did: when I was in 7th grade I was riding my bicycle to school when I thought, "I wonder if I could ride with my hands crossed on the handlebars?" I crossed my hands, grabbed the handlebars, and hit the ground before I could even comprehend what happened. I was bruised and road rashed, but got up and climbed back on the bike. I say that's the second dumbest thing I ever did, because the dumbest thing I ever did was to think, "Huh. Now that I know what to expect I should try it again..." |
After not riding yesterday due to rain in the forecast, I was hankerin' for a ride today.
It rained all night and stopped raining just before I needed to leave for work. The forecast showed that break, then more rain in late morning and rain/snow in the afternoon. Since it's 35 °F and has been above freezing for awhile, I think if it does snow, it'll melt immediately. Whether it does or not, it's supposed to stop by the time I leave work. If not, I have a short commute and will just have to be cold & wet for 13 minutes or so. I took the folder, which has the best fender coverage. Tonight is the bike club board meeting. If the weather's OK, I'll plan to ride to that as well. It should be another 10-12 miles. Maybe on the folder again, or maybe on the gravel bike, which has bikini fenders. Keeps me clean from the knees up, doesn't do much for the bike, but since the bike is belt drive, it's mostly cosmetic. |
I rode in both Monday and yesterday (Tuesday). I wasn't sure if it was wise but I did it anyway, and I'm glad I did. I also saved four fares on the subway totaling $12. Rehearsal started at 7, and at one point, I started falling asleep. At the break, I told my conductor that I might have to leave early because I was so beat. But after the break, I felt stronger. I can't believe how much water I drank yesterday, and I wasn't using the toilet so I guess I was sweating even though I wasn't perceiving it. I was still worried that I would not have the strength to go to work and would need to take a sick day. Upon getting home, I went right to bed, apprehensive about the morning. Well, I got up feeling as strong as usual.
At yesterday's doctor appointment, we talked about my anemia and other things. I'm going in for many tests to figure it out. I'm taking iron supplements. I see so many doctors these days! Apparently it's normal for someone of my age, and probably more so here in Manhattan where doctors are extra cautious. Some of these tests are probably unnecessary. She suggested a sleep study, but I'm not doing that. Enough. |
Finally below freezing for once and a smattering, 1/2 inch, of snow. Wonderful ride in this morning, the snow making it incredibly quiet, the sun not up yet, the cool breeze... perfect. Also this morning waved and greeted two new, stalwart early morning bicycle commuters heading the opposite direction into Boulder on 73rd and Niwot roads, one with Ortlieb panniers, both with decent lighting and reflectors. They have been more or less regular the past few weeks.
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At lunch today I read a news story about a pickup that collided with another vehicle and then a house at an intersection two blocks from my house this morning at 8:30. I drove today and I rarely cross this intersection on the way to work since it is very steep. There was a photo with the story showing skid marks staddling the dark texture-panel in the sidewalk. There were no details, but at that time of the morning the sun was behind the pickup, but would be directly in the eyes of a driver coming the other way that may have tried to make a left turn. Anyways, I do cross that intersection often on the ride home on my trail-to-trail route since the south approach up is more gradual and do-able. What gave me a chill is the photo shows a skid mark right where I would be sitting waiting for the light...a long light for me, and one where I never not have to wait for it. And this time of year the afternoon sun would be in the eyes of a driver heading the other way, but could lead to the same result. I have seen too many red-light runners at this corner.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...92c2a2b7ec.jpg Here's a video of me at this intersection. Skip to 3:30 for the intersection. |
It's scary, the low standard for driving these days in the USA.
I plan to do more gravel rides this year, but I still do a ton of road riding. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to the commute on the folder yesterday, I took my gravel bike across town last night for the bike club board meeting, 13 miles total. On the way out, it was windy and all uphill. Only managed 9 mph. The way back was nice though. I took the car this morning, as I have to go get my daughter right after work. It rained and snowed most of the day yesterday, then froze last night, so the car was covered with ice this morning. The windshield wiper ripped, having frozen to the windshield. That really galls, but they were due for replacement anyway. We're back into the 30s here now for awhile, typical for this time of year. |
Thigh Master I also like identifying regular bike commuters. I wonder about them and sometimes make up names for them and stories about their lives.
BobbyG chilling is a good word for that! |
Incredible headwind gusting to 40mph and rain on the way home. Properly draining. Especially once the sun set. Took advantage of the train to reduce the journey by 15k or so or would probably still be out there.
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I once taught myself to put hand on the other grip to give my throttle hand a break on long motorcycle rides. It's doable. It feels really strange. Definitely helps to understand countersteering (or believe in it, if you like). But I'd never try it on a bicycle. The steering is much lighter.
I got a lap in today and should again tomorrow. I was reminded of Bobby's trail sleeper when I came across a few of my own. I could not figure it out at first. I was pedaling up to the pedestrian overpass and saw a silhouette that made me think of a tadpole recumbent tandem. It turned out to be a regular bike with a folding wagon for a trailer and a folding chair in the wagon, and another folding chair next to it. Adjacent this where the bridge leaves the footing, there were three bedrolls, two of them occupied. This happened about 8:30 and I was surprised they were still in bed. Unlike Bobby's underpass, visibility was good and speed was low. There was a man on the bridge watching the freeway. He saw me, and his body language seemed like he might start back to the camp, but he paused and relaxed when I rode peacefully past it. After that he seemed like he was playing it off. I'm not 100% that he was a camper, but he was in flip flops which would be an odd choice for the hour and location |
Tuesday I felt so much love for my voluptuous 26" Rockhopper. Today I was in love with bike commuting itself! I didn't ride Wednesday as I had to drop off some paperwork 25 miles north before work, and then improv practice after work. A cold front blew in overnight and it was very windy and only in the teens after a long string of mornings in the 30s.
Anyway, this morning the plan was to ride the old 16" Dahon Getaway folder and take a southern route for variety and to avoid the usual construction-induced triple cross at the last intersection by the office. It was still on the chilly side of freezing this morning at 26F. And as I walked out to the shed I was struck by the thought that the old Dahon is like that slightly manic friend who talks incessantly without really having a point. I saw myself on the mile-long Bijiou Street downhill unable to enjoy it because the bike would be emphatically gesticulating to communicate everything about itself, but very little if anything about the road. In reality, the bike is fairly composed when ridden straight ahead on smooth pavement, and can be sedate on long sweeping turns once it settles in. But the spell was broken and I grabbed my main commuter, the 2015 Charge Plug 700x35. I did a mashup of old and new routes to get down south. One surprise was that since my last visit, a whole neighborhood had its crumbling streets sealed in the thickest curb-to-curb asphalt job I'd ever seen. At least the streets I was on. In fact, as I crossed out of that neighborhood and into the adjacent industrial park, the streets there had been roughed up and there was a crew laying asphalt. I rode through Memorial Park and next to Prospect Lake as I always enjoy the sunrise there...but the sun was at just the right height and angle that it was in my eyes, so I had to just look ahead at the bike lane. If you watch Joe Kenda: Homicide Hunter, the crime show featuring the cases of a since retired Colorado Springs Homicide detective I rode behind police headquarter. There's another route that takes me past the front of the building, but today it was the backside. My plan was to ride down Tejon to Dorchester Park and get on the Greenway Trail there, but I forgot and turned up Las Vegas which runs past a few major homeless shelters and services. It's very heart-breaking to see so many sitting and laying on the sidewalks and in the bike lanes waiting things to open. I feel guilty when I avoid this stretch, but I feel sad when I take it. A few minutes later I was at the office. I thought I had dragged and took a long time, but it was 35-minutes for 7.5 miles. The 8-mile trail to trail route takes 32-minutes on the main commuter, and the most direct 6-mile surface street route takes an even 30, so I guess I did okay. I left on time at five and it was 66F with high, wispy overcast. Just my bike T-shirt and shorts. There was a stiff but unusually warm wind from the North which made the first half of the commute a little tough. Just as I was heading towards the first underpass on the right side of the trail there was a homeless guy walking towards me. He crossed over to the other side (my left, his right) but just as I was about to pass him (I had slowed to 6 or 7mph) he lurched towards me in what seemed a deliberate move...but who knows, he could have lost his balance or had some other reason, but it really seemed like he wanted me to hit him, and it shook me for a few moments. I went home on the most direct route, through Colorado College. As I was exiting Monument Valley Park by the pickleball courts a young kid, 6 or 7 years old was coming into the park from the parking lot on what looked like a 16" BMX-style bike. He pedaled furiously then lifted his legs off the pedals as he glided between the parking risers and onto the park path. He kept his legs high off the pedals then looked up and saw me approaching. I had already slowed down and when he saw me he looked embarrassed about his legs being up. So I lifted my legs way up off my pedals and he burst out laughing which made me laugh, and that's how we passed each other, legs up and laughing. From that point I had the wind at my back and just glided home. What a great bike day! |
Maybe word's got out
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2310:
We were under a high wind warning all night. Laying in bed, the wind sounded like a constant jet taking off. There were gusts recorded as high as 85 mph. This morning the wind had calmed to a "more reasonable" 30 mph. I had to ride straight into it. The air temp was 26°F and I had a pretty good ice cream headache by the time I reached the office. I took the road bike and averaged 7 mph pedaling hard against the gale. Much to my surprise, there weren't as many branches laying on the ground as I expected. A few, but not littered everywhere like I often see after a wind event. I'm guessing the previous wind events we had this winter had already pruned all the dead branches. At one point on the MUP I had my head down fighting the wind, and neglected to see a decent sized branch in my path. I saw it at the last second and managed to hop my front wheel over it, but my back wheel hit it dead on. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had gotten a flat tire from that stunt, but thankfully I did not. When I ride from my house to downtown clients, I see homeless people on the MUP all the time. At times they've set up encampments under the bridges, but the police had cleared them out often enough that it's not as frequent anymore. I try to give them a pleasant smile when they acknowledge me, but most of the time they walk with their heads down. Today when one of them saw me smiling he gave me a cheery, "Good morning!" |
BobbyG, It sounds like the bums are pretty obnoxious. He was doing that thing high school bullies like to do to see if they can make you flinch.
Fun story about the 6 year old with legs up. I bet his mom yelled at him for riding like that, fearing he would crash, and expected you to as well, on some level. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I played soccer with my daughter and some Mexican kids last night, it was fun but exhausting. It uses the quads in a way that cycling doesn't so my legs were cooked this morning. The wind is 30 mph, gusting to over 50 mph this morning. It is a tailwind for the eastward leg on the way in to work. I decided to ride in downhill with the tailwind and pay the penalty later. I thought I might break a PR or two in Strava, but nope. Best I could do was a 2nd: 21.6 mph on the -0.4% grad for a half mile. I must've had a similar situation with better legs and a faster bike in the past. I only managed 26.7 mph down a long, shallow hill (0.4 to 0.9%) with the tailwind. As my favorite pro says sometimes: "I just didn't have the legs today." I did think to wear a somewhat snug-fitting jacket, and that will make the flip trip less painful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ {OT WARNING} Speaking of my favorite pro, (Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark, on Team Visma) are any of you watching the Paris-Nice highlights on YouTube? Today is Day 6 (of 8) and it's getting fun:
Check out the highlights on YouTube. (~ 10 min. video per stage) I like NBC's Extended Highlights. It's enough to really get a flavor for the stage, but not long enough to get boring, like watching a whole stage would be. Can't wait to watch the highlights over lunch. |
Today I rode in the dark. My headlight has a bad connection I had not bothered to track down and fix up because my schedule didn't have me riding in the dark very often.
Yesterday afternoon, the camp on the bridge had been completely packed up. But this morning the same people were sleeping on the trail in the same place. I heard a turkey as I rode into the company grounds. It was coming from way up in a pine tree, one that is pruned clean for about 20 feet up before the canopy starts. With God as my witness, turkeys can fly, although they avoid it. Years ago my dog flushed one on the bike trail by the light rail near Natoma Station, and it flew clear across four lanes and landscaping, into the SRA, probably a hundred yards, granted mostly gliding. |
35F, raining hard, turned to globs of slush when I got in.
There used to be a PR guy in the cube farm who got all the newspapers in the world and I could take them to stuff into my shoes and gloves to get them dryish by the time I had to put them on again to go home, but there aren't really any more newspapers, just digital, so I use paper towels from the restroom, and boy I have to pump that crank a lot just to get one shoe packed very loosely |
Took the 16" folder today and not only was it more composed than I remembered, it was very, very fast.
I never fitted a speedometer to the bike, so when I ride I use a simple gps cycling tracker called Zeopoxa Cycling. It gives nice stats and has the option of calling out speed and/or distance, or other data at customizable intervals based on time or distance. So, 12.6 mph average on the way in on surface streets. with a 17.8 mph average for mile 3 and a max speed of 26.0 on a long slight downhill. It was warmer than yesterday morning with a starting temp of 42F. For the ride home it was again a stiff wind from the north/northwest. I couldn't find a notice that the utilities work on the trail-to-trail route was finished, but a took a chance and it was. I was certain that that wind was slowing me down on the northbound leg, but the first three miles averaged 12mph. Then I turned east and enjoyed a nice boost from the wind. Overall it was an overall 12.4 mph average with and 15.2 average for mile 5. The max speed on the way home was 28mph, but that was going down a very steep hill I don't take on the way in. There were a lot of peds, dog-walkers, cyclists and e-bike/scooters on the trails but everything went smoothly. A few homeless by the office, but there were no issues with them although there were a couple of geese that stood their ground. The amount of others on the trail reminded me how they get crowded in the warmer months, so I usually take streets. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...96f8cf4f83.jpg |
Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2311:
We had an unfortunate series of weather events that made this morning's commute extremely challenging. It started early Sunday morning with heavy rain complete with thunder and lightning. Then the temp dropped below freezing, so the rain turned to snow. This gave us a layer of ice below the 6" of wet snow. Then the strong winds picked up causing drifting issues. Then the temp plummeted into single digits, which meant all that wet snow turned into solid ice. Last night after attempting the futile task of removing as much of the non-frozen portions of snow from my driveway as I could, I drug my garbage and recycling cans out to the end of the driveway. I went inside and had no sooner removed my coat and boots when I looked out the window to discover the trash cans on their side and the wind blowing my garbage all over the neighborhood. With a lot of grumbling I went back outside and tried to pick up as much trash as I could in the dark and refill the cans. When I first wheeled the cans out they were full. Now they were only about half full. I'm sure the neighbors love me. I have to be honest: after being out in the weather moving snow and chasing trash, I realized that this morning's commute was going to produce an intense vacuum (suck). I gave serious thought to breaking my streak and driving to work. In all honesty, the only thing that stopped me was the fact that (because I don't drive to work) I don't have a parking pass for ramp next to the client's office. And with road construction in the area currently making on-street parking unfeasible, the nearest place I could park was about six blocks away. I decided at that point I might as well bite the bullet and ride. This morning the air temperature was 1°F, and the wind was blowing hard at 30 mph. The city announced that because the temps were supposed to rise later in the week, they opted not to plow the streets. That sounds reasonable, except we have two more days of single-digit temps to get through before things warm up. I wasn't sure if the MUP would be plowed yet or not, and I didn't want to ride a mile to discover it wasn't and then have to backtrack. Because of all that, I opted to do a split commute this morning and ride the bus for part of the way. Normally I wait for temps to drop to double-digits below zero before I opt for the bus, but I decided the road conditions warranted a special case. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I left the house a few minutes early. I took the mountain bike with studded tires. As I suspected, the roads were in terrible shape. All of the tire tracks in the snow had frozen solid into rutted ice. Enough cars had driven over the roads that there wasn't any virgin snow left, so I was forced to pick the least treacherous looking ruts to ride in. Even with the studded tires the bike slid around quite a bit. Thankfully I never went down. The headwind was ugly, the only consolation being that I was riding so slow to begin with that it couldn't slow me down much more. The fat bike may have been a better choice for the terrain, but the tires won't fit in the bus bike rack. When I got near the bus stop I had about 50 yards of sidewalk to traverse. The car traffic had thrown all the snow from the street up onto the sidewalk, making the sidewalk a field of softball-sized chunks of ice. Riding this section was an impossibility. In fact, rolling my bike over this section was an impossibility. I wound up carrying/dragging my bike across the field of ice chunks, which made me even grumpier than I already was. I made it to the bus stop with only about a minute to spare. It took me 25 minutes to travel the 1.25 miles to the bus stop. I normally can walk faster than that. I'm glad I left the house early, as missing the bus would have put the cherry on the crap sundae. When I was on the bus I noticed the light on my GoPro was still flashing. That was odd, as I distinctly remember stopping the recording when I got to the bus stop. As it turned out, my GoPro had locked up so when I got to the office later I had to do a factory reset on it. As a result, I didn't get any video of the ride from the bus stop to the office. Thankfully it wasn't any worse that the first half of the ride. Here are a few stills from the video of the ride. Sorry they're a little blurry. The bike was bouncing around on the ice so much it was tough to find frames with clear footage. The 3rd photo is the portion where I had to drag/carry my bike. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...70926125c5.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b9876ab2e.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8640d0a95f.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b86be25036.jpg |
Tundra man, I think I would've driven. If you crashed and broke an arm, you would be kicking yourself for riding just to keep the streak going. Sometimes, it's just not worth it, when you have other options.
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