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How was the commute today? 2011 Edition.

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How was the commute today? 2011 Edition.

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Old 07-03-11 | 05:07 PM
  #2776  
El Duderino X's Avatar
Hrumph!
 
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Vancouver, Canada

Bikes: 2007 Dahon Cadenza w/ Alfine IGH11, modified MEC Desire w/Alfine IGH8,+ 2 ebikes: Bionx PL350 & 36V eZee FHB/Tidalforce frames.

Got to work at 05:42 this morning and discovered that my helmet, jacket and pants had acquired a light speckling of chalky white bird poop. Strangely enough I felt no luckier than I did when I crawled from the warm safety and security of my bed at 05:10.

Poop.

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Old 07-03-11 | 11:00 PM
  #2777  
sharrn
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Perfect on the way to work, ok on the way back. I had my first encounter with a ninja though. The only light's they had were one of the 3 LED cat-eye rear lights with near dead batteries, and some cheapo led flash light that effectively did nothing. I couldn't tell it was even on until I was right beside the guy. I told him he needs better lights.. but He didn't seem too interested. Hopefully he doesn't get hit.
 
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Old 07-04-11 | 06:46 AM
  #2778  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

Bikes: The always reliable kuwie

58f Nice out, beautiful 4th of july. Looking like a very boring day ahead of me, oh well time to enjoy the double time
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Old 07-04-11 | 07:25 AM
  #2779  
Igo
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From: Henderson/Las Vegas NV

Bikes: Giant Defy 2

What'sa Ninja?
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Old 07-04-11 | 08:44 AM
  #2780  
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From: Edmonton, AB
Guess it'll be quiet on this thread today. Happy Independence Day Americans!

Decent weather, a little breezy, but a nice commute in. Really hammered for the last several blocks to make the lights, which is what I normally do, but when I got off my bike a minute later, I knew something wasn't right. I guess all the blood started pooling in my legs and I started to feel light-headed. Nearly passed out walking into the gym so I sat on the floor in the hallway for a while until the blood returned to my head. Not a nice experience.
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Old 07-04-11 | 10:34 AM
  #2781  
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From: Falls City, OR

Bikes: 2012 Salsa Fargo 2, Rocky Mountain Fusion, circa '93

Originally Posted by Igo
What'sa Ninja?
Rides at night, no lights, no reflection.
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Old 07-04-11 | 02:02 PM
  #2782  
Igo
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From: Henderson/Las Vegas NV

Bikes: Giant Defy 2

Cool. Thank you.
So far I'm kind'a a Fred but not a Ninja I think.
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Old 07-05-11 | 04:28 AM
  #2783  
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From: Columbia, Maryland

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

A nice ride in at 69 F (21 C). It is a bit muggy, but still a nice morning ride.
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Old 07-05-11 | 06:35 AM
  #2784  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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58f Nice morning weather wise, but I hate when the 4th of july falls on week days was really hard to sleep through all the fireworks that finally tapered off at 3 am just in time for me to get two hours of sleep. Had tons of fireworks on the road to navigate through this morning also, at least somebody had fun last night Also doesn't help that after my normal shift which ends at 3pm I have to come back in at 10:30 pm and work until 3pm the tomorrow by this time tomorrow morning I should be pleasant.
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Old 07-05-11 | 06:41 AM
  #2785  
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From: Alexandria, VA
heavy lazy legs this am, warm, humid.

Was up on the mall and river front areas with bike for the big fireworks last night, what a great way to zip around and see them from different angles.
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Old 07-05-11 | 07:11 AM
  #2786  
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From: Burlington, Vermont

Bikes: 2011 Trek Soho DLX

Very pleasant this morning. Temps in the 60sF/~18C with a quartering headwind. I passed a guy on a recumbent. Unusual to see them around here but they're not unheard of. Then some other guy came up behind me at a red light, but jumped the light, so I waited for it to turn green, then dropped him on the climb away from it. Silly commuter racing!
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Old 07-05-11 | 08:09 AM
  #2787  
idc
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From: Virginia/DC

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Cool enough but there was a lot of tree debris on the roads from recent storms, and three roads where I had to "cyclocross" (pick up the bike and walk through). Air quality levels are gonna be baaad on the home commute and I didn't bring my pollution mask with me :/
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Old 07-05-11 | 08:39 AM
  #2788  
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From: Edmonton, AB
11C, sunny, no wind.

For a while now, I've wanted to try commuting on a single speed or fixed gear, but I don't have such bikes in my stable. Yesterday afternoon, I dropped off my commuter road bike at Sixty Fiver's shop for some repairs and maintenance, and he was more than happy to lend me a Single Speed Frankenbike that he had built up from spare parts (it has a coaster brake!). So I'll have that for a few days. I have to admit that while riding home, I wished for other gears. There was a light headwind most of the way home, and given the choice, I would have geared down because I had trouble getting my cadence up. This morning was better, since there was no wind at all. The looming challenge was the moderately steep hill near the end of my commute, but in the end, I made it up without too much difficulty.

So, been there, done that I guess.
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Old 07-05-11 | 08:47 AM
  #2789  
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From: Long Island, NY

Bikes: 2008 Jamis Aurora,1988 Specialized Hardrock, 1980? Kuwahara Carrera

Warm and sunny. Didn't push myself too much. Traffic was light on the first day back after the Independence Day holiday.
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Old 07-05-11 | 08:58 AM
  #2790  
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From: Lafayette, Louisiana
Hot, as will be until late September at the earliest. Had to wake up a passed out guy blocking the underpass. First time I've run into anyone there. There's no avoiding that road, there are signs stating that all person and cyclists must use that underpass to cross there. I was nice to him. Too much celebrating last night appeared to be his problem. I do need to figure out what to do if it appears to be someone less harmless in the future. The infrastructure of this city is horrible, even for cars, which makes it worse for cyclists (even more irritated than usual drivers. )
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Old 07-05-11 | 09:01 AM
  #2791  
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Wet, windy and generally cool, not a bad day all round so far.
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Old 07-05-11 | 09:28 AM
  #2792  
GATC
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From: south Puget Sound
55F sunny hazy; headed for 80F?
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Old 07-05-11 | 11:33 AM
  #2793  
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From: Alexandria, VA

Bikes: Trek 830 Mountain Track Drop bar conversion

Originally Posted by idc
Air quality levels are gonna be baaad on the home commute and I didn't bring my pollution mask with me :/
A bad day in DC is better than a good day in Beijing, so we should consider ourselves lucky. I ride regardless of the air quality warnings. Didn't even know there was one til you mentioned it.

Worked this weekend so the one day off yesterday didn't seem like enough. Ride in this morning was nice though. Coolest sight this morning was two Buddhist monks decked out in their red robes riding CaBi bikeshare bikes. Had to do a double take. I was also amazed how quickly they'd removed the trash from the National Mall. It was all gone this AM. Kudos to the cleanup crews!

Lots of cycling in my life this month. Continued commuting, an overnight bike camping trip, and, of course, my daily dose of the Tour de France. I love it!
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Old 07-05-11 | 12:10 PM
  #2794  
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Joined: Jun 2011
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Bikes: Old Cannondales: '85 ST400, '85 ST500, '85 SR900, '01 R600 CAAD4

Really nice weather this morning, in the 80s. Got one honk on my way to the greenway because I was taking the lane since the bike lane by my apartment was (surprise, surprise) obstructed by livery cabs, but ignored it. Had to negotiate lots of trash north of Riverbank, and the NYPD fellows taking down the barriers from last night's festivities on the greenway itself, but I took that as an opportunity to enjoy the view of the Hudson. Forgot my helmet, though, which made me feel really weird!
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Old 07-05-11 | 12:52 PM
  #2795  
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: YEG

Bikes: See my sig...

Gorgeous day here, school is out for the summer and most of this week's riding will be for the fun of it...

Just built my oldest daughter a new mountain bike so we will have to hit the river valley after we slather ourselves in bug repellent... if anything is taking the shine off of things it is the billions of mosquitoes out there.
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Old 07-05-11 | 07:06 PM
  #2796  
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From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bikes: KHS Town and Country 100 & Jamis Durango Femme 1.0

I saw side by side freshly squished squirrels on my ride home. Can squirrels make a suicide pact? The rest of the ride was uneventful but very enjoyable. I definitely prefer riding outside of the usual rush hour, mad dashes. Gotta plan this some more.
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Old 07-05-11 | 07:08 PM
  #2797  
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From: Puyallup WA

Bikes: 2009 Bianchi Via Nirone; 2010 GT Transeo W4F; 1985 Raleigh ElkHorn;1987 Schwinn Sierra

Foggy and cool 49 this am. Bunnies and birds on path. Sunrise... 78 sunny light breeze, minimal traffic. Any day on my bike beats a minute in a car.
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Old 07-05-11 | 07:14 PM
  #2798  
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On a Mission from God
 
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Thibodaux, LA

Bikes: '10 Surly LHT, Rat-rod Klunker, '82 Peugeot PH12 Centennial

Have only commuted 4 days in the last 2 weeks... things have just been nuts. Will try to ride tomorrow.
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Old 07-05-11 | 07:31 PM
  #2799  
Igo
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From: Henderson/Las Vegas NV

Bikes: Giant Defy 2

It rained and rained heavy in Las Vegas for an hour or so Saturday evening (it never rains in Vegas) then there was the fireworks last night. As soon as I got on my usual commuting MUP there was washouts and rocks the size of grapefruits ever 30 feet or so. Then there was dozens of broken bear bottles as this part of the trail passes right by where the fireworks are lit off. This is a trail that I just polished with a leaf blower 3 weeks ago but it was only the section of trail that runs along the contour of the land for about 0.3 miles. The trail then turn to run uphill. In the uphill stretch all of the mtb pea gravel that has been building on the trail was washed off by the rain.
On the way home I got a flat in the same glass very close to home. The tire actually went flat as I was checking the mail. As soon as I clipped in I went over like a tipped domino. Landed right in the landscaping so the loam was soft. Skinned knee and another flat repair. Still a good ride 'cause I had the lungs and legs to do it.
BTW, I was right under the fireworks last night...on my bike and they were grand. Happy birthday America!
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Old 07-05-11 | 09:41 PM
  #2800  
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From: Miami, FL

Bikes: 2007 Giant Cypress DX, Windsor Tourist 2011

Puncture about a mile from home. I didn't have any tubes with me, just a patch kit, so I decided to walk it in the rest of the way. I suspect that my rear tire might be toast, but I'll take a closer look in the morning.
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