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Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

How was the commute today? Continued.

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Old 11-14-10 | 07:19 AM
  #7001  
AdamDZ's Avatar
Bike addict, dreamer
 
Joined: Nov 2009
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From: Queens, New York
It's Sunday morning so it wasn't really a commute, but I woke up early and had an urge to ride my bike, so I left around 6am, it was around 50F and clear. I ended up riding to the top of nearby shopping mall that has the best views in the area (and "No bicycling" signs LOL) and snapped some shots.

Some beauty and serenity can be found in Gotham on Sunday morning









And for those craving urban shots:

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Old 11-14-10 | 10:40 AM
  #7002  
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From: Brooklyn
Beautiful photos, Adam. Such colors. I love the birds on the fence. Thanks for sharing a view I'll never see since I only acknowledge one 7 o'clock per day.
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Old 11-14-10 | 11:46 AM
  #7003  
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From: central ohio

Bikes: 96 gary fisher 'utopia' : 99 Softride 'Norwester'(for sale), 1972 Raleigh Twenty. Surly 1x1 converted to 1x8, 96 Turner Burner

Sunday, Noveember 14, 2010. Rode up to Hoover Resevoir (Ohio) about 8am. 45f. The water level up there was down about 17’.
It made for some great fat tire riding on dirt. A real unique experience for these parts. Being able to ride on areas
that are usually under water. It was like a moonscape. Rocky in parts with loose dirt. Lotta fun.


Riding thru a dried up seaweed bed.
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Old 11-14-10 | 12:20 PM
  #7004  
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From: Queens, New York
Originally Posted by scoatw
Sunday, Noveember 14, 2010. Rode up to Hoover Resevoir (Ohio) about 8am. 45f. The water level up there was down about 17’.
It made for some great fat tire riding on dirt. A real unique experience for these parts. Being able to ride on areas
that are usually under water. It was like a moonscape. Rocky in parts with loose dirt. Lotta fun.
That looks fun. I hope it wasn't windy? Was it dry enough not to be slippery?

Originally Posted by iManda
Beautiful photos, Adam. Such colors. I love the birds on the fence. Thanks for sharing a view I'll never see since I only acknowledge one 7 o'clock per day.
LOL! My wife said she prefers sunsets.... because you don't have to get up early Yeah, the one with birds is my favorite!
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Old 11-14-10 | 12:53 PM
  #7005  
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From: Brooklyn
Originally Posted by AdamDZ
LOL! My wife said she prefers sunsets.... because you don't have to get up early
I like to say that I AM up early. It's just that my "early" is between midnight and 1 a.m.

Cool moonscape, Scott!
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Old 11-14-10 | 07:41 PM
  #7006  
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From: Atlanta

Bikes: Cannondale T700s and a few others

Got a nice 14 mile loop in checking out some road projects and a Linier park (MUP) that is going in in my area. Specifically the one that was going to run me hop on the mup in my neighborhood and jump up to a new road to take me right up me to my current office on a new 4 lane with bike lane. Too bad a month ago we found out we are moving and I will no longer be using these daily when they are done. But I can still hop on it and loop out and back to get some extra miles in on the ride home to make up for the 2.3 miles I am loosing (each way).
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Old 11-14-10 | 11:13 PM
  #7007  
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Southwestern Ontario

Bikes: Schwinn hybrid, Raleigh MTB

Originally Posted by Aus biker
went for casual ride to newcastle harbour which ended up a 47klm ride,averaged 22 kph and fastest speed was 52kph on a downhill on the way home
Looks like a postcard! Beautiful country.
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Old 11-15-10 | 05:49 AM
  #7008  
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From: Columbia, Maryland

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

It turned out to be an unexpectedly warm ride this morning at 46 F ( 7 C). I had to adjust my clothing before I left. I knew we were expecting rain this
week, so I guess this is all part of it.
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Old 11-15-10 | 05:52 AM
  #7009  
urban commuter
 
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: West Philly
Left 30 minutes early this morning and noticed a major difference in traffic (or lack thereof). The roads had about 1/3 the volume of cars, which made the ride that much nicer. Every other cyclist I saw was riding without lights or reflective gear despite the thick fog. Got a little damp from the fog, which I wasn't expecting.
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Old 11-15-10 | 07:02 AM
  #7010  
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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

Tough commute this morning due to tired legs. I had a long weekend and made the best of it, riding a bunch of miles, including 60 on Sunday. It was cold this morning and I was having trouble generating enough energy to warm up since my legs were so pitiful. That and catching just about every red light on my route made for a slow ride. It's supposed to warm up near 70 F this afternoon and hopefully my legs will feel better by then.
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Old 11-15-10 | 07:43 AM
  #7011  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

Bikes: The always reliable kuwie

Nice morning 44f nice temp to start off the week
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Old 11-15-10 | 07:45 AM
  #7012  
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From: Alexandria, VA
Originally Posted by tarwheel
Tough commute this morning due to tired legs.
Tired legs for me too! Richmond marathon Sat....any others out there run it? First time for me and it was great. What a perfect morning commute today with overcast skies, moist air, not cold at all. I gotta savor this as I go into my first Winter of bike commuting.

Oh and saw dozens of Tweed riders out in DC on Sunday, including one of those jumbo wheel bikes.
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Old 11-15-10 | 08:58 AM
  #7013  
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From: Alexandria, VA

Bikes: Trek 830 Mountain Track Drop bar conversion

First commute back after missing out last week. Had a broken spoke and no time to make it to the LBS. Finally fixed all that. Ha da nice 17 mile fun ride Saturday afternoon and finally a commute this AM. Like dcb23 said, it was a beautiful morning for a commute. Temp in the mid 40s, cloudy, a little fog. I really enjoyed the ride. For once I don't have to stew all day about how I'm going to have to take metro home...
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Old 11-15-10 | 09:01 AM
  #7014  
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

^Definitely some awesome pics posted up.

Excellent commute in at 45F and mostly cloudy with winds from the NNW @ 3mph. This morning was the fastest commute I've ever had for the trip in, which was 16.5mph average. I beat my PB from Friday by about 1mph. I had to check a few different sources to make sure that I actually had a slight headwind and not a crazy tailwind helping me out. The funny thing is that I also didn't get as much sleep as I usually do. It was nice because I got some extra studing time in for my test in my first class.
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Old 11-15-10 | 09:31 AM
  #7015  
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From: Burnaby BC, Canada

Bikes: Velosport Appalache 15

Damp ride in this morning in the dark. Not the best time to fuss with new gear, but after a bit I started to get used to the toe clips and straps. Not as nice as a set of clipless, but better than my back up pedals used to be. I lost a dust cap for my regular pedals and haven't been able to find a replacement yet. I'm insisting that this bike be one I can take for rides with my son, so it must be compatible with street shoes.
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Old 11-15-10 | 09:38 AM
  #7016  
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From: Fairfax, VA commuting to Washington DC

Bikes: 2010 Kona Dew Drop (the daily driver),'07 Specialized Roubaix (the sports car), '99 ish Kona NuNu MTB (the SUV), Schwinn High Plains (circa 1992?) (the beater)

Not good doesn't really begin to describe it. Oh, in fairness, it could have been MUCH worse. But honestly - I don't know if it was me or just a bad day. As others have mentioned, the weather wasn't bad -- overcast/ cloudy, but no rain. Not too warm, but still fine in shorts. A recipe for what should have been a fine day.

Unfortunately, incident #1 was pretty much all me. I have to 'merge' (really a right/left transition) each day from the towpath to the Capital Crescent trail. I was running late this AM, so I was, I admit, in a bit of a hurry. I was watching the CCT from the towpath, to see if I was going to have to wait for traffic when I merged. It was looking pretty clear, but I wasn't accounting for a couple of faster moving road bikes who appeared after my last check. Worse, I wasn't thinking about the surface quality (gravel) of this transition. The final straw was my own indecision -- get out quick or stop... I think I tried to do both, with predictable results. Down I went, and worse, because of my momentum, I was sprawled across the CCT, so my main concern was getting out of the way. I'm sure I looked quite the fool. The good part of this was that I fell quite nicely, no injury to me (thanks, gloves) and my ride appeared to be completely unscathed. Some dust on my pannier.

Incident #2 was also preventable through smarter riding, though not 'my fault' -- the truck driver's inattention is not my responsibility, though I acknowledge that I must take charge of my own survival. I was on Water Street under the Whitehurst freeway, riding to the left hand side of the right lane, when a delivery truck decided to pull into the right lane without signaling or checking to see if it was clear, evidently. I was wearing high-vis yellow jacket, running front and rear blinkies, and generally doing my best to 'stand out'. What I could have done better, I suppose, was a) recognizing that he might come right (despite his lack of a signal) and/or b) taking the main lane instead of the right lane. I'm not sure if he heard my yelling, finally saw me, or just happened to stop, but I managed to get through it unscathed.

I will admit that after this second incident, I was thinking about taking metro home tonight. But the rest of the ride was uneventful, and I made pretty good time overall (about 13.5 MPH avg. speed)
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Old 11-15-10 | 09:58 AM
  #7017  
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From: Edmonton, AB
I installed my studded tires yesterday, which was perhaps a good thing since the roads and trails were pretty slick this morning. Rain on and off all weekend in low temperatures and freezing last night in the 'burbs left things a bit icy. Nothing too terrible - it didn't seem like cars were having much trouble, but it looked to me like drivers were taking it a little easier today. About -0.5C/31F when I left home, but I think it was above freezing downtown.

As I left my residential area and merged onto the main road, I suddenly felt a tear emerge from my right eye. It was at least another 30 seconds before I realized I had forgotten my cycling glasses. Rode without them, but definitely prefer having them on.
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Old 11-15-10 | 11:01 AM
  #7018  
GATC
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From: south Puget Sound
50F, misty. Kind of gritting my teeth waiting for winter but it just isn't time yet I guess.
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Old 11-15-10 | 11:37 AM
  #7019  
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Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Warwick, UK

Bikes: 2000-something 3 speed commuter, 1990-something Raleigh Scorpion

A chilly morning today. I converted my bike from a 3x6 derailleur setup to a 3 speed IGH last night, and it feels like a totally different bike to ride. Thankfully my homebuilt wheel held up just fine (a first attempt at wheelbuilding for me) and the three gears feel about right in terms of range. I've lost a bit off the high end, but those gears rarely got used anyway, and I can always coast if I spin out. All in all a nice, cold commute today.
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Old 11-15-10 | 01:18 PM
  #7020  
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From: Canada

Bikes: 2009 Trek 520

-3C for the ride in and 0C for the ride home. With snow on the ground I'd really like the temperature to be around -10C to keep things dry. I've been having to wipe down the drive train and re-lube every day since the middle of last week.

I took the MUP home, mostly to see the condition of it. It has been plowed, but not all the way to pavement so it is very bumpy with clumps of ice and snow everywhere. Definitely not something to try riding in the dark.
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Old 11-15-10 | 02:16 PM
  #7021  
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Joined: Oct 2010
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From: seattle, too many links

Bikes: fixed gear recumbent trike

trolly tracks got me this morning.
helmet cracked, but not my skull, at least thats something.
__________________
Originally Posted by yummygooey
crabon/campy/rapha/roadie-bro.

next step is recumbent.




my bikes | bike blog | beer blog | work 1 | work 2
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Old 11-15-10 | 04:28 PM
  #7022  
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Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

Another excellent commute home this afternoon at 51F and mostly cloudy with winds from the NNW @ 4mph. Definitely feeling like I'm on fire today. Made a PB on the way in, and also one on the way home cutting 5 mins from what it usually takes me on this commute. I even stopped at my friend's work on the way back so I could show her co-workers my trike. She's been asking for a while if I could drop by when I had the chance, and I finally was able to make it. It's right on my route, so I didn't have to go out of my way.
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Old 11-15-10 | 07:19 PM
  #7023  
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From: New Hope/Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Originally Posted by groovestew
I installed my studded tires yesterday, which was perhaps a good thing since the roads and trails were pretty slick this morning. Rain on and off all weekend in low temperatures and freezing last night in the 'burbs left things a bit icy. Nothing too terrible - it didn't seem like cars were having much trouble, but it looked to me like drivers were taking it a little easier today. About -0.5C/31F when I left home, but I think it was above freezing downtown.

As I left my residential area and merged onto the main road, I suddenly felt a tear emerge from my right eye. It was at least another 30 seconds before I realized I had forgotten my cycling glasses. Rode without them, but definitely prefer having them on.
I've been fighting putting on my studded tires until the end of the month but with the ten inches of snow we got last Saturday I may have to give in.
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Old 11-15-10 | 08:47 PM
  #7024  
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From: seattle, too many links

Bikes: fixed gear recumbent trike

lovely dramatic fall wind here in seattle. we have something like this every year. its fun.

tailwinds this time, i win!

__________________
Originally Posted by yummygooey
crabon/campy/rapha/roadie-bro.

next step is recumbent.




my bikes | bike blog | beer blog | work 1 | work 2
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Old 11-15-10 | 10:31 PM
  #7025  
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On the big ring
 
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From: Lenexa, Ks

Bikes: Trek 1100, Litespeed Catalyst



A beautiful fall night for the commute, around 40 degrees and clear skies. This is the last couple of miles of my ride. The cluster of lights on the horizon is the end of civilization and my work is about 1/2 mile beyond that. It is totally dark for the last little bit.
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