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How was the commute today? Continued.

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Old 11-05-10 | 03:57 PM
  #6901  
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Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

Great commute home at 49F and mostly cloudy with winds from the SSW @ 13mph. Did the same route home that I tried out this morning, and it went very smooth. The only thing that I'm gonna change is to start avoiding East and Chapin St, and just take Old Boston Rd instead. East and Chapin are still under construction and seem that they're never gonna get fixed. Another problem is getting on Rt 20 from Miller St right off of Chapin, especially if there's a lot of traffic. Turning left out of that road can be a real challenge most days.
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Old 11-05-10 | 04:09 PM
  #6902  
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From: Miami, FL

Bikes: Raleigh Record Ace, Windsor The Hour

Before you all Taze me... Man, this morning was cold 60s. I wore a long sleeve shirt along with jeans and it felt pretty nice indeed. Keep in mind I used to 80s and high 90s. 60s is cold >.<
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Old 11-05-10 | 09:08 PM
  #6903  
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Southwestern Ontario

Bikes: Schwinn hybrid, Raleigh MTB

Got out on a short ride with my son this afternoon. Pretty brisk, but he's protected from most of the wind while seated behind me. I need to find some sort of ear protection for under his helmet because it won't fit over a toque. Actually, a little skull cap would be ideal. Started seeing a few snow flakes while we were at the park so we saddled up for the ride home. Looks like some nice weather with temps in the teens (that's Celcius... high 40s, low 50s for you Imperialists) coming our way next week, so I may still get a few rides on the family hauler before it gets parked for the winter:

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Old 11-05-10 | 09:39 PM
  #6904  
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Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Fort Worth, Texas Church of Hopeful Uncertainty

Bikes: 1966 Raleigh DL-1 Tourist, 1973 Schwinn Varsity, 1983 Raleigh Marathon, 1994 Nishiki Sport XRS

I enjoyed the commute better than I would have guessed! After getting to work I found out some friends where meeting at the Benbrook Y and riding downtown for dinner.

I got out of work, high-tailed it down to the Y and we rode to the Flying Saucer... for some food and, of course, adult beverages of our choice. I just got home an hour ago.

My 34 mile round-trip commute turned into a 54 mile half century today. The weather was just perfect for riding, and my new dynohub and lights led the way.
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Old 11-05-10 | 10:37 PM
  #6905  
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From: Seattle
Had a beautiful 0 mph clipless fall into a mud puddle on the way home. Put my left foot down, but not paying attention and daydreaming a bit, I shifted my weight to the right. By the time I figured out what I had just done it was too late. At least the nice fellow in the car next to me turned down his gangsta rap so that I could here him laughing at me!
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Old 11-06-10 | 07:35 PM
  #6906  
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----
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 4,578
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From: Becket, MA
Another great commute today. After a summer with quite a bit of riding but not as much every day commuting (due to a location and schedule change for 3 months) I'm now back to my usual routine of 6-7 days a week of commuting about 20 miles a day since the first week of September. I'm actually noticing an improvement in my conditioning from being so consistent. Strange- less mileage per week, not as many hilly long rides but pumping the pedals pretty much every single day and I feel great from it.

I've got a couple of time trial loops that I do and I'm tempted to go out and see if I'm in better or worse shape than I got myself into 4 months ago. Regardless of whether I'm actually in better shape or not at least I feel good.
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Old 11-07-10 | 01:32 AM
  #6907  
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From: Örebro, Sweden

Bikes: Monark sportser 1970, Monark sportser 1970ish, Monark folder, Mustand 1985, Monark Tempo 1999, Monark 318 1975, Crescent 319 1979, Crescent 325 c:a 1965, Crescent Starren 2002 (hybrid/sport), Nordstjernan 1960`s cruiser.

Last week: some milder and light rainy days. The leafs slippy and the dark mornings makes poor visability. Thu-fri colder (-4-5 Celsius), the frost turned the wet surface more slippery. Luckily enough, no snow.
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Old 11-08-10 | 05:47 AM
  #6908  
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From: Columbia, Maryland

Bikes: Trek 820 mtb, A no name red steel pipe bike, my commuter

It was chilly this morning at 35 F (2 C), but we are expecting decent afternoons, probably up to the 60s F, ( middle teens C), so one more chance to wear shorts and a Tee-shirt, at least in the afternoons.
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Old 11-08-10 | 06:53 AM
  #6909  
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From: Alexandria, VA
Chilly again but dry and about 40 on my side of DC, a pretty strong headwind. But, I made a trek to REI this weekend and picked up a windbreaker and a rain shell. The windbreaker definitley did the trick! Nice to have some light this morning.
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Old 11-08-10 | 08:06 AM
  #6910  
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From: Kitchener, ON

Bikes: 2010 Trek Allant

It was a great commute today: 0C, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Oh, and it feels like I'm well rested when I get up at 6am now that we're back on standard time.
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Old 11-08-10 | 08:11 AM
  #6911  
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From: Raleigh, NC

Bikes: Waterford RST-22, Bob Jackson World Tour, Ritchey Breakaway Cross, Soma Saga, De Bernardi SL, Specialized Sequoia

I pulled a real bone-headed maneuver and I'm lucky that I didn't get hurt this morning because of it. I had some Open Pro wheels tuned and trued and decided to put them on my main commuter bike for a change, since they are lighter and faster than the Velocity Dyads I have on that bike. It never occurred to me that the rims were narrower on the Open Pros and my brakes might not be adjusted right for them. My house sits on a hill, so I headed down the driveway this morning and quickly realized that I had no brakes. Even with the levers fully bottomed out, the brakes did nothing. Fortunately there were no cars coming up my street, or I would have been flattened. I barely made the turn out onto the street without hitting the curb on the other side. Needless to say, I headed back to the house and put the Dyads back on my bike.

Other than that bit of excitement, it was a nice commute with daylight for a change with the end of DST. Very chilly as well, low 30s, my coldest commute since last spring. That made dressing a bit of a challenge since it is supposed to warm up to the 60s by afternoon.
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Old 11-08-10 | 08:42 AM
  #6912  
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

Had to break out the winter bike with studded snow tires this morning. 34F with rain and winds from the NW @ 21mph gusting to 30-40mph. The headwinds and slushy/wet roads made the commute a slow one. Quite a few rude drivers out today as well, including a school bus. Unfortunately I didn't make it to my first class because of the slow commute and I had left late because I had to switch over my lights from the trike to the bike. I'll just talk to my professor later to see what I missed. I think that I want to stick with clipless throughout the winter, because my feet slipped off the pedals a few times this morning, and that wasn't too much fun.

Last edited by Chalupa102; 11-08-10 at 08:50 AM. Reason: added the part about clipless
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Old 11-08-10 | 09:08 AM
  #6913  
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born again cyclist
 
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: Chicago

Bikes: I have five of brikes

if only every morning could be like this one. it has warmed back up here in chicago. it was 56 when i left home this morning, and the sun was out, the sky was cloudless and blue, the lake was sparkling, the wind was moderate and mostly at my back. perfect conditions in my eyes.
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Old 11-08-10 | 09:42 AM
  #6914  
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From: Burnaby BC, Canada

Bikes: Velosport Appalache 15

It was a nice chilly ride in this morning, down to 6C/44F. A little sluggish this morning as my back tire has a slow leak and I wasn't motivated to fix it last night, just fill it. I'll change the tube out today at work instead of sitting through the United way presentation... It started to rain when I was halfway up the mountain, not a light mist either, but it didn't bother me, just zipped up the jacket. The new RD and freewheel worked awesome and the shifts are so much quieter than the older parts.
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Old 11-08-10 | 09:43 AM
  #6915  
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From: Edmonton, AB
Like has been mentioned already, it was nice to ride in the light again this morning. 0C/32F and calm. Very nice.

Edit: forgot to mention, I rode my 5000th kilometer of 2010 today. If I had a mileage goal for the year, that was it. Everything from hereon in just adds to the number that I'll try to beat next year.

Last edited by groovestew; 11-08-10 at 12:12 PM.
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Old 11-08-10 | 09:49 AM
  #6916  
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: New York City

Bikes: Jamis Citizen with racks, fenders, lights and trunk bag.

First day back commuting after a week on the beach in Mexico.

And the first day of frozen precipitation here in NYC....big sharp pieces of sleet.

Plus I gained 5 pounds last week. And had a strong headwind. The Queensboro Bridge seemed a little taller today.
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Old 11-08-10 | 10:17 AM
  #6917  
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Stealing Spokes since 82'
 
Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

Bikes: The always reliable kuwie

34f chilly still in shorts but had the knee warmers on this morning, thankfully no rain showed up, i guess i spoke too soon last week about the mild temps. That seems to be the way boise is cold warm hot cold warm cold etc etc.
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Old 11-08-10 | 10:24 AM
  #6918  
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Joined: Jun 2010
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From: Kanagawa JP

Bikes: Soma ES

Best commute in a while. Cold enough for long sleeves, but I didn't get too warm/sweaty. Plus, traffic seemed really light for some reason. Also, nice to have the sunshine back in the morning.
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Old 11-08-10 | 10:27 AM
  #6919  
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Weatherman had threatened nothing but wet for the weekend so had planned to stay inside, but the forecast was roughly 100% wrong, so managed to enjoy the dry a bit with good rides both Saturday (Surrey to spanish banks/return) and Sunday (Surrey to Richmond/return).
Although i did impulse buy a really nice waterproof pants at MEC on Saturday, so was sort of looking forward to the downpour to test out the pants. Go figure.

This Monday morning commute was a brisk 3-4 C. The nose, cheeks and chin felt the chill, but otherwise a very pleasant commute. Again looks like the rain will hold up until later tonite, but with my new waterproof pants - i am looking forward to test them out.
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Old 11-08-10 | 10:32 AM
  #6920  
GATC
15 Anniversary
 
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From: south Puget Sound
38F, blinding midnight sun
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Old 11-08-10 | 12:33 PM
  #6921  
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Joined: May 2007
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From: Vancouver, Canada

Bikes: Brodie Force w/ Xtracycle, Dahon Helios, Merida Folding, Pacific Carryme, Softride Classic

Bought a long sleeved breathable windbreaker\rain jacket in yellow with silver reflective stripes on sale at Caps Bicycle's in Richmond yesterday. It was sized XS and fit me - this is a rare find as I can seldom find stuff which fits. Testing out the windbreaker last night when I went out to rent a video at Rogers and the commute to work this morning, I am pleased that it keeps the wind out even at 7-9 degrees Celsius and I was just wearing a long sleeved cotton T-shirt underneath. In fact the only thing which was cold was the ears. I almost pulled my toque out but managed to get along without it.

Went to the Chevron at Westminster Hwy and No. 2 Road to air up my rear tire. I tried pumping air into the tire but only kept hearing the sound of air coming out of the tire. WTF? Then I looked at the sign which said in small print, "Temporarily Out of Service". When there is no air from the hose, the higher pressure air from the tire rushes out to the lower pressure of the atmosphere. This meant that my rear tire was now seriously DEFLATED from its previous condition. Arrrgh! What to do?

I decided to ride to the car repair shops by Capstan Way and see if anyone there could give me some air from their compressors. So it was a soft and squirrelly rear tire ride to Capstan Way. The fellows at Kia Motors (dealer) were able to help me and soon I was on my way again. When I thanked them, I told them my destination was downtown to get to work, they replied, "On that bike? Good luck." LOL. The rest of the ride was normal and uneventful.

During the weekend, I moved the seat further back along its I-Beam rails and improved the efficiency of my riding position. The seat height was also lowered to enable a high cadence without the need to rock the hips. These two changes made for a very pleasant hill climb and ride without any apparent negative effects.
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Old 11-08-10 | 12:59 PM
  #6922  
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Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Canada

Bikes: 2009 Trek 520

I enjoyed a nice 50km Sunday ride yesterday in +17C weather.

Today was probably the last of the shorts weather. The studded tires are going back on tonight as there is rain / snow forecast for tomorrow followed by daytime highs just over freezing for the rest of the week. Should make for some icy mornings.
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Old 11-08-10 | 02:27 PM
  #6923  
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I guess it was 3 or 4c when I left this morning, and for the first time this fall the legs felt a bit cold. Soon it'll be time to don the leggings and the winter gloves.
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Old 11-08-10 | 09:15 PM
  #6924  
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"Per Ardua ad Surly"
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,416
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From: Kitchener, Ontario

Bikes: Bianchi Specialissima, Mongoose Hilltopper ATB, Surly Cross-Check, Norco City Glide

Did a shortened variant on my long commute to test out my new light system. Man the Light & Motion Stella 150 is one good system. Had an awesome ride home.
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Old 11-09-10 | 02:43 AM
  #6925  
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Joined: Aug 2008
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From: C-Ville

Bikes: are fun to ride

I worked the late shift last nite, left work around 1030pm. Very dark, cold commute through the woods. At one point I stopped, turned off my lights to check how dark the trail was. It was hella dark! It's getting close to the time of year when my tolerance to riding in cold weather approaches. Gotta dust off the cobwebs from the trainer.
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