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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 01-04-11 | 07:43 AM
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From: Fort Worth, Texas Church of Hopeful Uncertainty

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How was the commute today? 2011 Edition.

How 'bout we start out clean for the New Year? The other thread hangs up on me sometimes.

Anyway, the ride in today was the perfect Texas winter ride: 43 degrees, slight tailwind (both ways if the afternoon forecast is correct), and the new additions to my cycling wear- a merino wool jersey (a gift from the wife) and a pair of Pearl Isumi leg warmers (door prize from the bike club Christmas party) made me perfectly toasty, but not too warm.
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
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Old 01-04-11 | 07:59 AM
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Need about another week till I can start again. The plowing around my town has been horrible. Areas still melting, icing and a lot of places one lane. Long story short...... my wife will be way to nervous and freaking out if I bike in right now.......
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Old 01-04-11 | 09:15 AM
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Same here. I thought about it this morning, but at 7*F, I thought better of it. Drove my route though, and the ice is still too prevalent. Hoping tomorrow after today's sun.

Last Thursday...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJFMywIKzSI

Last edited by RT; 01-04-11 at 09:17 AM. Reason: Add vid
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:11 AM
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From: North Texas

Bikes: Cannondale T1000, Inbred SS 29er, Supercaliber 29er, Crescent Mark XX, Burley Rumba Tandem

Skipped the bike commute today, in favor of taking the 29er out to Grapevine Lake for a night ride after work. A ride's a ride, for a' that...

Tomorrow may see me back on the old Cannondale T1000, while I finally start to install Ultegra/105 running gear on the Vaya. I don't imagine I'll get that completed in time to ride in.

I've got a pair of platform pedals on the C'Dale - that'll take some getting used to

BTW, Doohickie - have you seen/do you know the guy with the double-racked Long Haul Trucker? He rides along Gorman, too.
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:26 AM
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Mostly the same as doohickie's The weather is great - now if I could just do something about the mountain cedar making my nose drip like a faucet...
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:30 AM
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Good commute today, after skipping yesterday (up all night with panick attacks about returning to work). As Doohickie said, 43 degrees is a great temp for the morning ride here in N Texas. Got to use one of my new Ortlieb panniers today and my new helmet. Gotta love Xmas presents!
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:34 AM
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28F and overcast this morning. Started to snow on my way in, but just flurries. Kind of nice, actually. This afternoon was gray and still overcast. 29F with a light dusting of fresh snow on the ground.
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:35 AM
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oh that reminds me, today was the first day using my new Linus Pannier. Holds my iPad, pants and a shirt.
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:49 AM
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My commute was little dicey this morning.
Snow was melting yesterday in the 40's(F),
but this morning was about 30F. So a lot
of ice on the roadways. And to top it off, I
leave the house at 6am; no sun yet
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by RTDub
Same here. I thought about it this morning, but at 7*F, I thought better of it. Drove my route though, and the ice is still too prevalent. Hoping tomorrow after today's sun.

Last Thursday...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJFMywIKzSI
I watched it twice, it's that mesmerizing. Love the yakety sax overlay. It's perfect.
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:54 AM
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crazy. There's always some yahoo in a big truck that thinks his vehicle is big, therefore good on ice.
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Old 01-04-11 | 12:01 PM
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Everything's funnier with Yakety Sax.

I woke at 5 to go on a long ride in this morning, saw the Hounds of the Baskervilles quality fog and went back to bed. By 7:30 it had thinned quite a bit, so pretty safe and comfy. I just wore a dress shirt and pants, with a merino sweater, and was quite comfortable.
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Old 01-04-11 | 12:09 PM
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From: Riverside, CA

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Woke up late, rode leisurely as I already missed my regular train to catch. Got to station 15 minutes early still and noticed it is 35F. Ended up waiting extra 15 minutes in the temperature shivering as ... the train got delayed... 30 minutes standing still there at the temp was no fun. Looking forward to ride back though. Temp should be in high 40s low 50s which I love to ride at.
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Old 01-04-11 | 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by truman
BTW, Doohickie - have you seen/do you know the guy with the double-racked Long Haul Trucker? He rides along Gorman, too.
Not sure. I know a handful of LHT owners. Could be one of them. There's one that usually crosses the train tracks, then turns right on Hildring (in the morning; opposite in the afternoon). I've been doing that too since all the construction makes the freeway access roads yucky. I ride up through Overton Park to the trail along the creek, then to the river and back to 183. A mile or two longer but misses all the construction.
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
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Old 01-04-11 | 01:55 PM
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Had some nice flurries on my way to work, and about half way to work, my rear gear cable broke :-( Just had it repaired during my lunch break.

All-in-all, it was a pretty nice ride here in Toronto. The roads were a bit wet, but didn't encounter any ice or snow on them. The temp was about 0°C and the "feels like" temp was -6°C.

Just bought a new face/neck mask while waiting for my bike to be repaired at work. Can't wait to give it a try :-D
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Old 01-04-11 | 02:07 PM
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Embarrassing tbh. Didn't know I could get that out of shape over Christmas. Doesn't help that I ride fixed so can't change gear! Either way I made it home, but not without quite a bit of heavy breathing - hope I'm back in form by the end of the week!

Got new glasses though so was good to try them out
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Old 01-04-11 | 02:37 PM
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From: Fairfax, VA commuting to Washington DC

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I guess I'll repost my latest here -- will the old thread be locked, and this one be stickied?

Not a bad morning - - though I chose a shorter ride to ease my knees a bit. I thought I had misjudged the cold when I left off the Balaclava in favor of the beanie, but a mile or so in, all was right. Much less wind than the past few rides, which was nice, and more people out, possibly because of my later than usual start.

Oh, and I bought another used bike last night... Bad boy! It has some mechanical needs (derailleurs are frozen-ish), but overall it seems pretty sound. Guess I'll be visiting the mechanic's forum.
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Old 01-04-11 | 02:39 PM
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Bikes: Bacchetta Agio, 80s Raleigh Record single-speed, Surly Big Dummy

Cold and clear (and dark!) this morning. I left early to stop and the Y for swimming and weightlifting. Then I went to work.

Rode my bike about a mile after lunch to go drop off a Brooks saddle I sold on Craigslist.

In another two hours, I'll be leaving work and riding to my massage therapy appointment. Yeah, life is hard.
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Old 01-04-11 | 07:05 PM
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I rode my bike in the rain for the 1st time today. Ive been commuting since about July and have avoided ridding when its raining. Today after work i was on my way to the bus stop but decided it was about time for me to learn to ride in the rain lol I didnt fall.. so i say it was a successful ride
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Old 01-04-11 | 07:28 PM
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today's ride - first commute of the new year (monday was banker's holiday), and there was the typical frantic panic over expected snowfall of 5 cm that will shutdown the city! (Vancouver - LOL - where 1 cm of snow will cause widespread chaos and destruction - what a joke).

https://www.news1130.com/news/local/a...warning-issued

it felt warm (around 0c) so i chanced it and decided to ride - against the quiet reservations from the missus. turned out - a very nice ride - low traffic and the snow held out. the ride home was even warmer - no precipitation as yet along my route, so was in all a pleasant commute day!
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Old 01-04-11 | 08:00 PM
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First commute of the New Year and was able to make it on my summer bike. There's no snow on the ground and looks like it will be that way for a week. What happened to winter? It was miserable here a few weeks ago.
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Old 01-04-11 | 08:49 PM
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First commute of the year today. I am fighting off the remains of a nasty cold but braved the cold and snow anyways. I'm a bit stubborn that way. I was, however, rather depressed since I passed by the spot on the MUP where a 60 year old man was murdered around midnight on New Years' Eve. Also, another man was assaulted on the same trail the same afternoon and a 30 year old woman was sprayed in the face with bear spray by two jerks on another trail near my house. I swear I think this place is going to hell.
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Old 01-04-11 | 08:58 PM
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Originally Posted by CptjohnC
I guess I'll repost my latest here -- will the old thread be locked, and this one be stickied?
That's why I started the thread; the other one seemed to be getting a bit unwieldy. But I have no control over that.

The ride home was cooler than I expected, but still a bit warmer than the morning. The roads were fast and smooth and there was a slight tailwind. Work commitments mean I'll have maybe one or two chances to commute over the next two and a half weeks.

Glrgaghh
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
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Old 01-04-11 | 09:32 PM
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Nice commute today. Relatively warm morning (50's) and then low 60's on the way home with a nice, light rain. It was my first real commute while raining...and it really made me appreciate the fenders that are on my bike.
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Old 01-04-11 | 11:52 PM
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Nice and cool this morning. It was my second day of riding in jeans and besides the fact that I look like a total dork tucking my leg into my sock, riding 2 miles in comfy jeans isn't half bad!
 
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