How was the commute today? 2011 Edition.
#2501
Car-free in the South
If I hadn't worn my usual "hot" morning clothes (extremely thin shorts and t-shirt) it would have been pretty nice. I am just really happy the temps here have calmed down, as it has been 96F+ for weeks on end, and it was getting quite old.
#2502
Senior Member
12C, grey, tailwind for parts. Supposed to be wet this afternoon, but I came prepared(ish). Left quad is still sore when pedaling, a week and a half after my 400 km ride, so maybe I'll take tomorrow off the bike again.
Good luck! You'll do fine.
Good luck! You'll do fine.
#2503
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Raleigh, NC
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Set a record fast commute time this morning due to cool temperatures, low humidity and a nice tailwind. However, I caught nearly every red light on my route, so I could have done much better with a little bit of luck.
#2504
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Santa Fe, NM
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I'm in the opposite mode now, where I'm coming from a cold, wet/snowy Spring, so above 60 is t-shirt and running shorts weather. It's all relative

#2505
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
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It was a long cold spring and I'm definitely not heat acclimated. Pretty much soaked in sweat when I arrived this morning.
#2506
Newbie
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD
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Nice and cool today, and my shifting has never felt more responsive since I found the friction shifting toggle on the rear shifter.
#2507
sniffin' glue
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Seattle
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Bikes: Surly crosscheck ssfg, Custom vintage french racing bike, Bruce Gordon Rock & Road
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Every morning I pass by this woman walking her dog. Every morning the dog goes absolutely ballistic barking and yanking her around. Sometimes she picks up the dog, trying to calm it down, this doesn't work. This morning she had a different tactic. Since she had her umbrella she tried to block the dog's view so it couldn't see me. This method still did not work, and the dog was going nuts trying to poke it's head around the umbrella, barking like mad. All of this made me break out into a roaring laughter, this is a daily occurrence and I still find it hilarious. I wonder why the dog hates bicycles so much?
#2509
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: I live in Montgomery, Alabama.
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It is hot in Montgomery, Alabama. My commute is just a little over a mile and a half (1.6). My commuter is a 29er that is a pure mountain bike, so it doesn't roll very fast even on my table top flat ride. I pedal very slowly and average between 10 and 12 mph. I arrive at work without breaking a sweat. My route is a wide single lane with a center turning lane. So, cars generally give me plenty of room. On my way home for lunch, I saw a young lady who had run into a telephone pole. The police were doing their report. The car was damaged to the point that it was not driveable. It is hard to understand how a driver could run into a telephone poll on a wide, straight and level road. I don't know for sure, but I bet what you are thinking is what I am thinking (cell phone or texting).
#2510
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mesa,AZ
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Man it is hot as hell today, I am sooo not looking forward to my ride home..107 or 108 I think is the expected temp this afternoon and I'm sure that the asphalt will push that higher...
#2511
The Drive Side is Within
Nice day. 80F and a slight tailwind. I skipped the train and passed and dropped two separate guys on modern road bikes with my fendered folder on the 17 mile ride home. Rar commuters!
__________________
The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley
The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley
#2512
Senior Member
Yesterday I had a great commute. I extended my 7.5 KM route to just over 40 KM. Felt great. I came across another rider out in the country and she was moving quite fast. I paced her until she broke off. At a stop sign she said, "Wow, you're fast. Imagine what you could do on a road bike - I mean what the heck...." I liked that. I was riding a flat bar road bike that is pretty optimized so it isn't at all far from a road bike - it just looked odd as I had my rear rack, pannier and trunk bag.
Today's commute was just nice as usual....
Today's commute was just nice as usual....
#2513
Senior Member
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Location: Atlanta, GA
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My afternoon commute yesterday took me by the set for The Walking Dead in downtown Atlanta. Saw a bunch of zombies on the sidewalk. Today I had my camera, but no zombies. Boo.
#2514
Senior Member
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Location: Louisville, KY
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got a few extra miles in because it was nice. had to deal with a couple of cyclists that didn't understand lane positioning (or holding their lines), but that's par for the course around here.
#2515
On a Mission from God
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Thibodaux, LA
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I also had a barking dog, and the owner was yelling at the dumb little thing. The dog was still barking and snapping at me, while I sat at the edge of the highway waiting for a break in traffic. After a minute (the man was still yelling) I turned and said loudly, "Yelling at the dog isn't working, man. You need to hook him up!" and I rode off, with the little mutt still going nuts and the man hadn't moved an inch.
Oh yeah, got some Airzound vengeance on a pair of yapping Chihuahuas... I can't tell you how satisfying it was to hear the little rats yelping and running for cover when I hit that sucker for a few seconds.
Oh yeah, got some Airzound vengeance on a pair of yapping Chihuahuas... I can't tell you how satisfying it was to hear the little rats yelping and running for cover when I hit that sucker for a few seconds.
#2516
Senior Member
The Manhattan Bridge was a continuous line of bikes today in both directions. I have never seen it so crowded. I had one hipster jerk decide to pass me near the very end then cut me off. Then at the light he stops dead right in front of me when I had the light in my direction. I should have hit him.
#2517
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Great other than the usual headwind in both directions. Oh there was some young kid(teenager) riding against traffic in the bike lane.. i kindly told him he was on the wrong side of the road. Stopped by the am/pm for a couple beers and some lady absolutely trashed went in, turned around and walked right into the locked door(only one side open). She then sat in her car for 10 minutes.. I waited around until she left. I didn't want her barreling into me.. I wish I had the non-emergency number for the cops
Google helped me find the numbers..

Last edited by sharrn; 06-16-11 at 04:32 AM. Reason: Google helps a lot.
#2518
Ths Hipstr Kills Masheenz
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terrible until i met a friend and blocked traffic for about four blocks catching up. legal to ride two abreast here.
#2519
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Columbia, Maryland
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Bikes: Trek 820 mtb, A no name red steel pipe bike, my commuter
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Another pretty morning at 59 F (15 C). A string of nice days can really make everything else seem not too important.
#2520
Belt drive!
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Burlington, Vermont
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Another nice ride in today. 60f/15c with a light headwind.
Now I know some of you frown on this behavior, but I scared the bejesus out of a zombie pedestrian on the MUP. I've never seen her before, so she's new at this complicated "keep right" concept. Walking dead in the center of the trail. Back facing me. Phone to her ear. I dinged my bell. No reaction. Dinged it again, loudly. No reaction, but then she kind of wakes up and slowly turns her head rightward to see what all that dinging is. I'm passing on her left (MUP is wide so we've got 3 or 4 feet between us) as she realizes what's going on, and she let out a startled gasp.
I pointed right.

#2521
Stealing Spokes since 82'
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Boy-z, Ideeeho
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41f Chilly morning, had to go back to the spandex helmet liner to cover my ears.
#2522
Member
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The wind was crazy this morning. Every direction I turned it was a head wind - how is that possible? I don't know how people in Chicago ride bikes.
#2523
a.k.a., Point Five Dude
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Twin Cites, MN USA
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I hit 1,000 miles for the year on the way in to work this morning:

...The summer is still young!

#2525
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Alexandria, VA
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Rained overnight/early AM so the roads were still a little wet this AM, but it was a nice ride in. Winds flipped around to the south today so I had a morning tailwind today as opposed to the headwind of the first three days of the week. Of course that'll mean a headwind this afternoon in addition to predicted possible thunderstorms... at least it's not 100!
