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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 03-03-11 | 11:32 AM
  #876  
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going home last night, the high winds added 15 minutes to my 15 mile commute! And that was on a recumbent, which normally isnt effected so much by the winds.
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Old 03-03-11 | 02:49 PM
  #877  
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Echo EKW's comments about the weather today. The cold is definitely back. Although winds were almost non-existent coming in from the west this morning, temps were in the low 20's with windchill. Looking forward to the ride home, will be a little warmer, and with a slight tailwind.
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Old 03-03-11 | 06:26 PM
  #878  
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Yep chilled down here in DC...kinda hard to gauge what to wear.

Crisp ride on and a chilly ride home with a headwind but still saw more than the usual amount of cyclists out.
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Old 03-03-11 | 06:29 PM
  #879  
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This week has pretty much been a bust.
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Old 03-04-11 | 12:04 AM
  #880  
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My ride out to the local college was great tonight. A cool 55 degree sunset and a nice calm quite bike path.
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Old 03-04-11 | 12:05 AM
  #881  
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Although yesterday's ride home wasn't as great. I got caught by the rain and wasn't prepared.
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Old 03-04-11 | 12:46 AM
  #882  
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Bikes: fixed gear recumbent trike

ugh, cars man, WHY!??!

srsly, i dunno, i think i started my ride home later then usual, but the car traffic was frustrating.
everyone was being super aggressive.
i was starting to get very ARGGGGGGGGG.

this view helped me calm down

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Old 03-04-11 | 06:05 AM
  #883  
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From: Alexandria, VA
Originally Posted by jdgesus
ugh, cars man, WHY!??!

srsly, i dunno, i think i started my ride home later then usual, but the car traffic was frustrating.
everyone was being super aggressive.
i was starting to get very ARGGGGGGGGG.

this view helped me calm down
I ask the same question sometimes...like this morning the guy taking the left, right in front of me. I flipped him off but my mitten didn't really convey that

But, he was not enough to sully a very nice ride in with almost no wind and temps just above freezing. Better weather, means more bikes, means more people might think about it, means less cars! That's how I started, seeing colleagues bike in I decided to try it.
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Old 03-04-11 | 07:47 AM
  #884  
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From: Boy-z, Ideeeho

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27f Nice morning the winds seemed to have died down, a bit chillier than it has been the last few mornings.
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Old 03-04-11 | 08:58 AM
  #885  
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Bikes: 2010 Trek FX 7.2, 2006 Felt F80

A nice ride - the sun is just about peeking over the horizon when I park, and it's up by the time I'm cleaned up - that's nice to see
looking forward to this afternoon's ride
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Old 03-04-11 | 09:01 AM
  #886  
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40 degrees and 10 miles of drizzle, followed up with the final 5 miles of straight-up cold rain. not exactly the dictionary definition of fun, but that's life.

the rain is supposed to be even heavier this afternoon. zip-a-dee-doo-dah!
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Old 03-04-11 | 09:23 AM
  #887  
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Short, just a couple miles to the brake shop to pick up the car this morning... feels like rain coming.
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Old 03-04-11 | 09:31 AM
  #888  
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Originally Posted by jdgesus
ugh, cars man, WHY!??!
If this is a Portlandia reference, then well played, sir. "Ten foot rule!"

Bit of a headwind last night for the ride home, but nothing too bad, and it diminished for the last couple miles of the ride home once I got back onto city streets and away from the open spaces along the river and near the airport.

The ride in this morning was a gem. Temp 34F/1C, slight tailwind. Came across a fair maiden who had stopped on the MUP and seemed to be inspecting her bike. Asked if everything was OK so as to offer help, but she seemed OK and just waved me on. The other interesting sighting on this morning's commute came on the Mall, where I saw a cyclist riding solo on a tandem. At first glance, I thought maybe he was on an Xtracycle or something, but once I looked for more than a split second I realized he was not. I like the idea of tandems, but they look funny enough with two people on board, and even more so w/ only one rider and the absent stoker's pedals still spinning away.

I think I finally have my Surly LHT order issues sorted out... what a long and ridiculous process this has been! In any case, next week's commutes should be my hybrid frame's swan song.
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Old 03-04-11 | 09:33 AM
  #889  
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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)

Didn't get to ride yesterday, as I worked from home, but I spent an hour last night introducing a group of cub scouts to ~very basic~ bike maintenance (inflate tires properly, adjust the seat, lubricate the chain). Perhaps it will get them all interested in riding more :-). They seemed fascinated by my collection of bikes (I brought my wife's vintage Schwinn collegiate, my road bike and my MTB, but not the commuter). I think my son was pleased with the attention his bike got, too :-)

This morning I was a tad overdressed... probably needed the fleece or the long sleeve base layer, but not both. Having said that, though, my face was pretty chilly, so maybe I chose better than I thought. Got a late start because of a traffic accident/stuck car blocking a lane of traffic (which impacted the car portion of my commute), but opted for the 'short' route, and still managed to be on time . Tried another slight variation on my route, and I think I've found my 'sweet spot'.

Originally Posted by EKW in DC
The other interesting sighting on this morning's commute came on the Mall, where I saw a cyclist riding solo on a tandem. At first glance, I thought maybe he was on an Xtracycle or something, but once I looked for more than a split second I realized he was not. I like the idea of tandems, but they look funny enough with two people on board, and even more so w/ only one rider and the absent stoker's pedals still spinning away.
I saw him too (I can't imagine there would be two, right?) under the Whitehurst Freeway going through Georgetown to the CCT. Definitely an odd site. Perhaps it is part of his training regimen, though it seems like there would be easier ways to add weight for your training...

Looking forward to the ride home.

Last edited by CptjohnC; 03-04-11 at 09:36 AM. Reason: Tandem
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Old 03-04-11 | 10:01 AM
  #890  
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From: Burnaby BC, Canada

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Made it home yesterday just before the thunderstorm. Happy about that too because there was some nasty hail. This morning I woke late and took the short route in. This is the first 5 day week in a while, and I can feel it in my legs. Boys night tonight means junk food and movies with my 6 year old son! Gotta get out of here early today!
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Old 03-04-11 | 10:09 AM
  #891  
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From: Bucks County, Pa
it was colder than i thought today and I nearly froze my face off. By the time I got to work (15 miles) i had a headache from the cold wind blowing my my face. Not cool. Well yeah, cool, but not really.
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Old 03-04-11 | 10:24 AM
  #892  
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From: south Puget Sound
30F, brisk.

I have just been dying lately. I took yesterday off from my commute, worked from home, just rode a couple miles for a couple meetings, and did not get my legs back this morning. Still made it, and pulled out one nausea-inducing sprint, but it's not a great feeling.
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Old 03-04-11 | 10:28 AM
  #893  
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From: Canada

Bikes: 2009 Trek 520

Nice fast -24C ride despite using platform pedals. I rode about 1/3 of my route before the first car passed me, the streets were quieter than usual. This is the first week in a long time that I made all 3 commute days.
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Old 03-04-11 | 01:38 PM
  #894  
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From: Crystal MN
My first commute to work in over a year

Awesome! I haven't had a job in a year so even better.
5 mi. and 10 mi via car.
Nno bike rack no problem. (the door is super secure)
28 F. no wind
I am bored at lunch so I hope the ride home is as great!

Video will come after I get off work hopefully.

https://i.imgur.com/efYYQ.jpg

Last edited by wheel; 03-04-11 at 01:41 PM.
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Old 03-04-11 | 02:00 PM
  #895  
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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

Encountered my first really rude driver in quite a while. As I was approaching a traffic signal, a car came up behind me and the driver honked while passing me, apparently because I slowed her down by about 1 second. She then got caught by the red light and totally wigged out, flipping me birds and waving her arms and totally freaking out like I had caused the light to turn. She would have missed the light whether I had been there or not, but that didn't seem to matter. It was kind of funny, actually. I kept a good distance.

Had my first flat in over a year while riding home yesterday afternoon. I picked up a big nail in my rear tire, which instantly flatted the tire, but it fortunately did not damage the rim or the sidewalls. I was aiming for a new personal best commute time, but the flat sort of destroyed my will, but I still ended up with a fast time for the day -- but alas, no record.
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Old 03-04-11 | 05:40 PM
  #896  
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From: Thibodaux, LA

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

Had lots of rain today, on and off. I tried out my rain jacket for the first time, and it works pretty well... not 100% waterproof like they say, but still 100% better than nothing.

When I was leaving work, it had just started to pour, and one of the engineers saw me at the gate. He grinned and held his hands out like he was holding two massive, um, basketballs. I just laughed!
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Old 03-04-11 | 07:12 PM
  #897  
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Originally Posted by tarwheel
Encountered my first really rude driver in quite a while. As I was approaching a traffic signal, a car came up behind me and the driver honked while passing me, apparently because I slowed her down by about 1 second. She then got caught by the red light and totally wigged out, flipping me birds and waving her arms and totally freaking out like I had caused the light to turn. She would have missed the light whether I had been there or not, but that didn't seem to matter. It was kind of funny, actually. I kept a good distance.
Yeah, some people are just angry it seems, I don't get it.

That ol' homeward bound headwind caught me, was not expecting that bit still a good one. My local bike shop sent an email about a special for the Jamis Bossanova..I told myself I would do a full solid year before upgrading to a new bike but oh man this thing looks pretty sweet.
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Old 03-04-11 | 09:14 PM
  #898  
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From: Monson, MA

Bikes: Catrike Trail Recumbent trike

Excellent commutes today, which makes 3 days of cycle commuting this week. Next week I'm planning to do 4 out of 5 days as long as the weather cooperates. 23F and sunny with no wind this morning. 37F and sunny with winds from the S @ 13mph this afternoon. My endurance and speed are slowly getting back to where they were last semester.
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Old 03-04-11 | 10:52 PM
  #899  
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From: seattle, too many links

Bikes: fixed gear recumbent trike

rode home in the dark, session went really long today.
hate riding in the dark, i have terrible night vision
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Originally Posted by yummygooey
crabon/campy/rapha/roadie-bro.

next step is recumbent.




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Old 03-05-11 | 06:36 PM
  #900  
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From: California
Originally Posted by tarwheel
Encountered my first really rude driver in quite a while. As I was approaching a traffic signal, a car came up behind me and the driver honked while passing me, apparently because I slowed her down by about 1 second. She then got caught by the red light and totally wigged out, flipping me birds and waving her arms and totally freaking out like I had caused the light to turn. She would have missed the light whether I had been there or not, but that didn't seem to matter. It was kind of funny, actually. I kept a good distance.

Had my first flat in over a year while riding home yesterday afternoon. I picked up a big nail in my rear tire, which instantly flatted the tire, but it fortunately did not damage the rim or the sidewalls. I was aiming for a new personal best commute time, but the flat sort of destroyed my will, but I still ended up with a fast time for the day -- but alas, no record.
\

It is silly when drivers flip out for no important reason at all. She needs to get on a bike to relieve some of that stress which is obviously coming from some other area in her life.
The times when a driver honks at me I play a joke and smile and wave pretending like they were honking at me because they know me. I get a kick from it.
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