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How was the commute today? Continued.

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Old 12-01-10 | 07:58 AM
  #7226  
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From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Rainy and windy, 9C/48F. The ride in wasn't too bad, it was just depressing to get up with so little light in the morning.
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Old 12-01-10 | 08:10 AM
  #7227  
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

Excellent commute at 51F and overcast with winds from the SE @ 11mph. Overdressed today wearing full rain gear because I was expecting rain, which never happened, but the roads were damp. It was nice to change into a dry pair of clothes after my other ones got wet with just sweat. Tied my fastest commute in this morning averaging 16.5mph. The tailwinds definitely helped out with that.
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Old 12-01-10 | 08:14 AM
  #7228  
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I used up some karma points this morning. It was supposed to be pouring rain with a bad headwind. But... It didn't rain, and the wind was calm until I got about a mile from work. It's 50F / 10C, too.

The ride home supposed to be very rainy with a gnarly tailwind.
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Old 12-01-10 | 09:02 AM
  #7229  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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Slow going this morning we got about 5" of snow over night its powdery and dry on top of frozen snow and slush, so much snow was building up everywhere my antifreeze trick did nothing against the massive amounts of snow i lost the ability to shift accurately, i could still shift but who knew which gear i was gonna end up in. I eventually gave up on the sides and sidewalks and just took a lane after about 1/4 mile built up enough speed to the point i was going with the flow of traffic and felt comfortable that made the rest of the way to work much better. Boise has apparently skipped fall alltogether this is more snow than we got all last winter really is weird. Sorry the pics aren't better kinda crappy conditions, i had to rest half way as i was starting to sweat too much from pushing the snow outta the way.

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Old 12-01-10 | 09:19 AM
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From: Beautiful Boise, Idaho

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Nice brisk commute this morning with temps in the mid 30s. I tied a scrap of cloth around my nose, mouth, chin, and ears to keep them from getting too cold. Nice clear commute, not much traffic.

Fizzaly - My fiance lives in Boise. Sounds like you got a pretty big snowstorm. She thinks riding in the snow would be too dangerous, so I'm tempted to send her your pictures. Ha!
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Old 12-01-10 | 09:31 AM
  #7231  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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Originally Posted by Commuter76
Nice brisk commute this morning with temps in the mid 30s. I tied a scrap of cloth around my nose, mouth, chin, and ears to keep them from getting too cold. Nice clear commute, not much traffic.

Fizzaly - My fiance lives in Boise. Sounds like you got a pretty big snowstorm. She thinks riding in the snow would be too dangerous, so I'm tempted to send her your pictures. Ha!
Yeah we got it pretty bad my girlfriends car is stuck at home, i guess the official is 7inches, i would say its dangerous no matter what way your out and about in boise today
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Old 12-01-10 | 11:03 AM
  #7232  
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From: south Puget Sound
40F and foggy
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Old 12-01-10 | 11:20 AM
  #7233  
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From: Alexandria, VA

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Not a horrible ride in given the forecast-for a while, at least. I got out just ahead of the worst of the rain and was making great time as I had a significant tail wind. On a couple of occassions the wind was strong enough to make it feel as though it was going to knock the bike out from under me-especially on the leafier sections of the trail. I was largely dry and making great time until the 14th Street Bridge then, whamo! another freakin' flat. I limped along on a slowly deflating rr wheel until I got to the parking deck opposite Phillip's on the waterfront. There I stood, in the dark, dirty parking garage, wet and standing amidst bum piss cursing and slowly changing my tube in disbelief (I've had more flats since April than the entire 8 year period preceding that, combined). I put everything away and emerged from the parking deck to a deluge. Fortunately I only had about 1/2 a mile to go but, I was nearly completely soaked in that short time. If not for the flat, I would have made it in completely unaffected by the storm. Oh well, I guess that's part of the breaks. I completely removed my tire/tube at work just to give it a thorough once over so that I might feel a little more confident on the way home-couldn't find any puncture, foreign obect-nothing. The temp has since dropped about 15 degrees and the morning tailwind will be a huge headwind on the way home. Great.
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Old 12-01-10 | 11:24 AM
  #7234  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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Dang its still snowing in Boise have gotten 2inches since i got to work at 6am it should be a fun ride home. I just went for a ride to get some early lunch and the snow is up over my rear derailleur.
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Old 12-01-10 | 11:55 AM
  #7235  
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From: Alexandria, VA

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First day back from over a week off taken for a Thanksgiving trip to California. First bike ride in that time, too. Felt good to be riding again...

Originally Posted by mjw16
Not a horrible ride in given the forecast-for a while, at least... ...I only had about 1/2 a mile to go but, I was nearly completely soaked in that short time.
I was running late, suffering the effects of jet lag (just returned from a week-plus in California last night), but was happy to be riding in what seemed to be a good break in the rain, etc. I was enjoying a brisk tailwind coming up the MVT, the kind where you ride along at 18-20 mph with little effort and hear no wind. That is, until I hit the 14th St Bridge. The sky quickly got dark, and in the snap of a finger, the wind went from strong southerly to even stronger northwesterly. The temperature dropped 15 degrees is ten seconds and the skies opened up. I had about 1.5 miles to go and got completely soaked as well. 35 mph wind gusts and a a cold stinging rain accompanied me the rest of the way to the office. Fun... :-\ If I'd left ten minutes earlier, I would have missed all the nastiness. Oh well...

Originally Posted by mjw16
The temp has since dropped about 15 degrees and the morning tailwind will be a huge headwind on the way home. Great.
The wind is actually supposed to be from the NW or WNW the rest of the day and dying down as time goes on, so I'm counting on it being more of a help than a hindrance.
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Old 12-01-10 | 07:12 PM
  #7236  
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

This evening was probably one of the most miserable (and slowest) commutes I've ever had. 50F with heavy rain and winds from the SE @ 19mph gusting to 33mph. My average speed was 11.6mph, which is usually around 14mph for the ride home. The wind was absolutely horrible being either headwinds or crosswinds. At times I was really fighting to keep a straight line because the wind was trying to push my sideways. The rain didn't help either which sometimes stung and was causing a lot of street flooding. It almost seemed like my headlight did nothing because of all the glare. On the bright side, as horrible as the commute was, nothing really bad happened. I'm know if I was driving my car, I would have definitely been a lot more miserable.

Last edited by Chalupa102; 12-01-10 at 07:18 PM.
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Old 12-01-10 | 09:14 PM
  #7237  
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From: Austin, TX
wow - some of you guys are really hardcore! i have not suffered that much on a commute...yet. but then again, i'm relatively new to the game - so i realize that my time is coming...

low 30's on the way in and low 60's on the way home with a headwind. perfect conditions to try out some of the cold riding gear.
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Old 12-01-10 | 09:57 PM
  #7238  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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The ride home sucked i was gonna take the bus, but at the last moment decided to just ride not fun. Was way too much traffic to take a lane and the sidewalks were a mess when i got out of down town i was able to take a lane and it was much smoother. The snow got really heavy and most of it had slush under it. Grand total for the day was a little over 9inches ranked in the top ten storms for boise.
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Old 12-02-10 | 05:50 AM
  #7239  
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From: Anchorage, AK

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7F/-14C at home, 3F/-16C on campus. Cold toes, but a beautiful, sunny day.
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Old 12-02-10 | 05:52 AM
  #7240  
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From: Columbia, Maryland

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

Cold but no rain or wind. A brisk ride in at 24 F ( -4 C). Looks like we are headed toward more seasonal temps, which is fine, because it makes
it easier to dress properly in the morning.
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Old 12-02-10 | 05:59 AM
  #7241  
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From: Columbia, Maryland

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

Originally Posted by mjw16
I was largely dry and making great time until the 14th Street Bridge then, whamo! another freakin' flat. I limped along on a slowly deflating rr wheel until I got to the parking deck opposite Phillip's on the waterfront. There I stood, in the dark, dirty parking garage, wet and standing amidst bum piss cursing and slowly changing my tube in disbelief (I've had more flats since April than the entire 8 year period preceding that, combined). I put everything away and emerged from the parking deck to a deluge. Fortunately I only had about 1/2 a mile to go but, I was nearly completely soaked in that short time. If
It is tough getting a flat when you are trying to beat a storm. On a lighter note, Phillips is down the boardwalk from Cantina Marina, one of my quick get aways to something that resembles a beach bar in the warmer weather.
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Old 12-02-10 | 06:42 AM
  #7242  
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From: Metro Boston, MA
I felt bad about not riding yesterday so I could get some xmas shopping done after work--that is until I noticed the 40mph wind gusts during the drive home. Rode in this morning. Around 30 with wind-chill but dry and little to no wind.
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Old 12-02-10 | 07:48 AM
  #7243  
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From: Toronto, ON, Canada
1C/34F and sunny. Today was one of my fastest rides in on the winter bike due to the rare occurrence of having a faster cyclist going my way and the ensuing race to catch up with him.
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Old 12-02-10 | 07:50 AM
  #7244  
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From: Cape Coral, FL

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ok, this is SW Florida....left the house this morning for my usual 11.3 mile commute........41 degrees and 18-23 mph headwind with gusts into the low 30's......as I was crossing the 1.1 mile Veterans/Midpoint bridge, the gusts were trying to blow me over the side of the bridge....it was a slow ride in this morning!
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Old 12-02-10 | 07:53 AM
  #7245  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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31f Raining, Annoying ride, had a little bit of everything, some hardpacked snow, slush, ice, bare wet pavement. overall a pretty quick ride thanks to the last two miles of bare pavement but everywhere other than the traffic lanes is a nightmare should be another lame ride home.
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Old 12-02-10 | 08:11 AM
  #7246  
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From: Burlington, Vermont

Bikes: 2011 Trek Soho DLX

Yesterday on the ride home, the bicycle commuting gods were smiling upon me. Great tailwind. 55F/13C. I was cruising at 25MPH on the flats with no wind noise at all. Just the drone of the all-terrain tires. I had to stop to take off my rain pants because I was too hot. The pouring rain held off until I got into my driveway, too.

This morning was just as pleasant, but for other reasons. It felt like springtime. Sun was up. Calm wind. 36F/2C.

I am about 4 miles from 10,000 on the Trek Liquid. I'll pass it on the way home. Probably take a picture. I don't know if my cyclocomputer does 5 figures.
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Old 12-02-10 | 09:02 AM
  #7247  
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From: Wolverhampton, England

Bikes: Trek 7.2 FX

It's 30F/-1C i cold England, We have had an early winter this year, snow for a week has brought the country to a halt, great to be able to get home on the bike, just have to be a bit more careful, especially in the Dark.
one question, this is the first winter i am cycling, i started in March and have only missed three weeks over that time, but i am finding it increasingly tiring as the winter gets worse, Do you experience that as well? I am finding that i have to shift down a few gears more as the legs are giving in, but i do not want to give up, a friend of mine takes the bus and she got home at 7pm with the bad roads, i made it at 4:50pm, worth every sore muscle!
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Old 12-02-10 | 09:09 AM
  #7248  
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From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Originally Posted by The Scotsman
i am finding it increasingly tiring as the winter gets worse, Do you experience that as well? I am finding that i have to shift down a few gears more as the legs are giving in
Yes definitely. For me this is a combination of road conditions, more wind, more clothing and winter tires.
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Old 12-02-10 | 09:14 AM
  #7249  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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Originally Posted by bijan
Yes definitely. For me this is a combination of road conditions, more wind, more clothing and winter tires.
Ditto, cant wait till this snow melts some so i can get back on the kuwie and fly!!!
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Old 12-02-10 | 09:22 AM
  #7250  
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From: Alexandria, VA

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Good ride home last night with a few additional miles I ride less often to drop off December rent. The fall chill is back in full force, though, and my clothes, still not quite dry from the AM soaking, made for a chilly first couple miles. By then, body heat and drier air had dried clothes the rest of the way.

This morning's ride was also nice, though the combination of not having just come back from a week and a half off the bike and a brisk headwind combined to keep my pace fairly slow. Avg of around 11.5 of 12 mph instead of the usual 14+. And much cooler, but still nice.
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