CigTech

Well looks like Mars is still off sailing, so here is this week post.

Here is my stats from last week.

This week lets talk about the games we play on our commutes. Like racing the clock on the fast areas of your ride. Or how you beat cars or others bikes. let us know.

Me I ride as hard as I can with out killing my legs for work and the ride home. I do use a radio, it helps me keep a high cadance. And I always try to beat my bridge time.

thelazywon

Do you have the excel template for that wonderful spreadsheet?

tibikefor2

I have a very structured ride into work and back to home. I have certain portions of my commute where I will do an interval (90-95% perceived effort), then a recovery portion. It is fun to get racer wannabees on my wheel and watch for them to blow up when I sprint a hill and then continue to work hard after a hill.

The other game I play is to say good morning to people and keep count how many respond to me and how many do not.

CigTech

thelazywon, I do have and can send you the spreadsheet if you want it. Just let me know.

Tibke, I like it when there try to pass me and them dump me. I'll seat on their wheel. Then after a 1/2 mile I'll pull up next to them and start talking to them and work in that I'm just going to work. Then tell them you don't want to be late and take off like a bat out of hell.

Gusboh

I don't play any real games on my commute, i spend too much time thinking about my work or my music or my homebrewing.

Where the bloody hell is Cyclo and Jur?

The long distance cycling forum isn't as cool as this one Cyclo...

tulip

I caught myself singing BeeGees tunes from Saturday Night Fever this morning, so I started counting cars with only one person (driver) to distract myself. Sometimes I say "Good Morning" to other commuters, but they rarely say hi back, so I find that discouraging. I do nod to the usuals--commuters I recognize from my four years doing this. The ones who I recognize from winter always give a little nod and a smile.

I try to send positive thoughts to everyone I see, like saying in my head Peace or something, even to the wackos in cars who cut me off from time to time. Seems to keep me from getting mad, at least.

I have timed my little 3-mile stretch a few times, but I've not gotten any faster! Tomorrow I'm going to ride the Red Terror, my super light, custom road bike...we'll see if THAT makes me faster.

Marylandnewbie

I just realized this is the forst time all week I've logged onto this thread. My rides have been so uneventful these days I guess I have nothing to add.

Like Velo I have a nodding acquaintance with commuters I see virtually everyday. I also find that the few winter commuters I see acknowledge each other more. Oddly enough some days I find lots of people greeting me where usually I have little interaction with the peds, joggers and riders on my route. I don't know why somedays are more friendly, I just assume that some days I simply look more dashing and irresistible in my budget cycling wear!

Nothing exciting to add, just more pedalling through the heat and humidity.

tulip

It's getting darker earlier...I can tell. Time to break out the headlight for those evenings that I'm caught out after 8!

I teach a class at a local university one night per week. Tonight was one of those nights, and although I usually take the Metro, tonight I decided to ride my bike. So I got to see a different part of DC than usual, went to the class (one student had a final project presentation, the others are in two weeks), and then headed home...but I ended up hopping on the Metro.

I guess that means summer is coming to an end, just a little. Ho Hum, not that I spent it at the beach or anything, but I like long days. Might as well look forward to winter commuting and the re-emergence of the Extreme Commute Club (the few, the proud).

Marylandnewbie

Velo -- say it isn't so! I can't believe it is getting dark earlier already. Oh well nothing to do but keep on pedalling.

I saw a fox last night running along the side of the trail. Very unusual, so I rang my bell lest he run in front of me at the last minute. He stopped and looked at me until I rode by, but otherwise seemed unimpressed. I can hardly wait for the heat to break -- I'm tired of arriving home dripping wet. Its also a little annoying when the nice weather brings out out the extra people on the MUP.

CigTech

Well today on the way home I stop to cash my check and the clouds opened up in a hard way. So I held off for 30 min till it passed to find that I had a flat. So fixed the flat then took off. Made it home in 61 min for the 17.12 miles. Had a real bad headwind. That gave me a ARTS of 16.83 mph. Not bad for a old fart.

tibikefor2

Well after about 14 or so months of saying good morning to a fellow commuter, he finally said good morning back to me. I almost crashed.....

xroader

Velo - I noticed the shortening days in the morning this week. I try to leave by six, but soon will have to put on the lights for that as well.

Back up to milage this week, then broke another spoke this morning - limped back to the LBS after work and let them convince me to rebuild the wheel with heavy-duty spokes (this is the fifth broken spoke is as many weeks.) So I left it there and had my wife pick me up losing 1/2 my evening ride. I'll take the road bike tomorrow and maybe make up the milage on the way home.

I don't really play games on the trail - mostly I just try to beat 54:10 (my current PR) for the ride. I do listen to an MP3 player (often with only earphone in unless the MUP is mostly deserted) It does help to break up the monotony of the same ride over and over. I usually listen to spoken podcasts, news and such. One of them reads a summary of the NY Times each day, and I also download a couple of stories and exercise interviews and such.

There are several people I exchange greetings with, mostly runners that are going the opposite way every morning. There are a couple that are so regular I can tell how late I am by where I meet them on the trail Unfortunately there is one older guy who is really consistant that I haven't seen all week - I hope he is doing OK.

Marylandnewbie

Tinike -- maybe they do say hello but at your rate of speed the doppler shift wipes out the words!

OK I'm thinking today is just too disgusting to ride -- not that it stopped me -- I'm just having the thought. Hot, humid, dense air with nary a breeze to move it, you just gotta love a DC summer.

I've been slacking off lately and not trying to really push on the commute. Rather than trying to build speed I find myself really concentrating on my pedal stroke. I'm trying to get a nice smooth spinning type stroke rather than a more mashing one. So far I can do it right when I concentrate, but it is not yet second nature. I figure it is a modest goal for hot weather riding, but nonetheless a useful one. It is also pleasantly rewarding to pick up speed just by riding more efficiently. Have a great weekend riding everybody.

By the way has anyone done any riding up on Cape Cod? We'll be up there for part of a week in August and I was just wondering how the riding is with cars, trails, roads, etc.

CigTech

Maryland, I have a outstanding ride home and not so bad a ride to work.

There was a storm comming from the East/Southeast and I needed to go to the NW. So it worked out in my favor. I started out just trying not to get too wet and ended up making it home in 56 min clock time for the 17.22 miles. The ride time was 44 min. Here is todays data. At two places in my ride I stoped paddleing to see how fast the wind was pushing me. The first time it pushed me at 16.7 MPH for a 1/4 mile. Then after the front cought up to me it was pushing me at 22.3 mph up a small incline for a 1/2 mile. After I got home I check the wind speed and it is 28 mph SE Gusting to 38mph. At one point I was doing 30.3 mph on my 40 lbs. bike fully loaded. Man I wanted to just keep on ridding.

xroader

Well, first blood of the year today. I was leaving work, intent on riding home pretty fast, pedaled through the first corner forgetting that my pedal sits a little lower on my road bike than on my hybrid and bumped the pavement, then dumped it over. No cars around so I am not hurt, but I did give myself a stiff knee and a bit of road rash - and plenty of bike maintenance for the weekend - the wheel is out of true, it shifts bad and there is something wrong with one of the pedal.

Bad commute day overall really, I realized a few miles in this morning that I forgot my wallet and had to ride back. Since I don't have a rack for my road bike, I can use my paniers where I just leave stuff like my wallet, so I was kind of off for the whole day. When I left work this evening I realized I left my sunglasses on the rack and had to turn around again. After I picked them up is when I fell over.

On the good side the two go-backs made up for the milage I missed with the broken spoke yesterday, so I am over 150 for the week.

Have a good weekend all.

nashcommguy

Hi Everyone,
My commute is going to go from 21 mi./urban/rt to 31/rural/rt over the next month or so. The roads are good to excellent w/no dogs(yet...ha-ha) and one 'main artery' w/moderate traffic(it's about 5 mi of the 15.5...a 'straight shot' w/7 or 8 rolling hills and no berm!...Ouch!). There's a 'stone quarry' along this artery, so there's been some dump and cement truck traffic in the two times I've ridden the route. It's a little intimidating to hear the 'jake brake' rapping of the diesel rigs, but I just hold my line and pedal on. Going to get a detailed county map and see if there is an alternate route w/less 'heavy' traffic.

There's one hill(and it's a long one) that I could barely pull in 52x28. Otherwise, it's all moderate/easy climbs. May order one of those Alpine cassettes form Harris Cyclery which jumps from 24 to 34 on the low end as I don't know if I want to make that mash on the way home from work everyday. Another thing I thought of was going to 46 or 48 on the front. Any suggestioins?

BTW, does this qualify as a 'very long commute'? It takes just over an hour each way.

CigTech

If the ride is long to you then it's a VLC.

If you drop down to a 48 then you'll still be getting close to your top speed now. With a 46 then you'll lose some off the top end.

If it where me I get a 3 chainring on the front (like a 30/42/53) this way you get the low end you need with out taking away from the top end.

I like the older 10 & 12 speeds. There go from 13 to 28 on the cassettes. and come with a 52/38 on the front.

nashcommguy

Hi Cigtech,
Thanks for the resp and suggestions. Did the mileage w/the vehicle trip meter yesterday and discovered by the time all is said and done it's going to be closer to 16.5 or 17 each way. Yes, then it qualifies as a VLC for me.

I've got an older Softride Traveller tourer w/46-36-26 on the front and 12-28 on the rear, but I only use it for long tours.

Have a late 80s fuji del ray w/val-lite steel tubing which I've set up for urban commuting. Index shifting, single chainwheel(52t)x7(12-28t)cassette, sun cr18(32 hole) 700 rims w/28mm tires. As said in my previous post there's just the one hill that's 'killer' and it may get easier with repetition. Measured it in the car yesterday and from base to summit it was only 0.3 mi, but very steep(for me, at least). Am leaning towards the 48t chainwheel as per your suggestion if I can find one in the 110/74 dimensions.

Also, thinking of airfree tires as I had a puncture on the way home. Anybody have experience with them? There's a type that are 28mm rated at 90 psi. Monaco is the model, I believe.

CigTech

nashcommguy, see the VLC week 17 post, thanks