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-   -   How was the commute today? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/7855-how-commute-today.html)

noteon 12-10-08 09:37 PM

My Light & Motion Vega headlight only holds enough charge anymore to get me home if I keep it in blink mode and switch to full only at certain times, so there's a lot of doinking around with the controls.

But more annoying than that... Grip King pedals are the coolest for summer riding, but man, they SUCK in the rain. I'm slipping all over the stupid things. I need to get my Matrix from the shop in Queens that finally finished its warranty repair and take the FUNN Soljam Vipers off it. Those things are awesome in all weather.

Other than that, it was an average rainy commute. I'm probably getting some Foxwear rain pants made. Until then, it'll be soggy tights.

ZiP0082 12-10-08 09:41 PM

Super warm today -- my winter coat was way too much. I do sorta enjoy commuting in light rain both ways, though, kinda refreshing (unlike downpours).

FredOak 12-11-08 08:11 AM

27, but it felt a lot warmer, was sweating by the time I got to work, but ride was great.

And I've come to the firm conclusion that cager attitude is based on time of day. If I leave between 6:30 and 6:45 everybody is so nice...if I leave from 7:00 on, I take my life into my own hands, they're insane.

Standalone 12-11-08 08:11 AM

First long rain ride to and from choir last night. Flood watches up. I swung by my LBS in my volvo to pick up fenders, had them on un 15 minutes and hit the road. I carried some tevas in the panniers and a change of clothes to wear at church, then changed back. Couldn't find my gloves, but wasn't really that cold. It was oddly warm. The strange weather only motivates me more and more to use my car less and less.

Getting a wheel trued for my commuter clunker at my LBS, and then I'll be ready to start commuting to work and not just going to church.

vtjim 12-11-08 08:15 AM

Whew. BF is back! (The internets were broken this morning...)

Nice ride for me. Calming, somehow. Light snow cover. Some ice. Lots of bicycle tracks in the snow, including some going off into the woods trails. I think there are some new winter cyclists around here! :thumb:

Temps were in the low teens F, and I had a light tailwind.

Here's the Trek next to a steamy Lake Champlain, looking toward Burlington Harbor. (Bad cell phone picture.)
http://home.comcast.net/~mcbrook/bikeforums/steam.jpg

evblazer 12-11-08 09:02 AM

Ah well I only fell once today. As I take a left turn and crest and hill I found myself on a street of ice.. Nope not from rain or snow from $#*)($*($#)( sprinklers :(

ItsJustMe 12-11-08 11:07 AM

4*F this morning. Maybe colder in some places.

I suppose it might be about time to think about breaking out the balaclava. My face was getting a bit chilly by the end of the ride.

HardyWeinberg 12-11-08 12:08 PM

mtn-biked it and boy am I tired. I wasn't expecting that. Brutal headwind at a delicate stretch. No kid shuttling this morning, everyone else slept in (actually I slept in too, up at 20 to 6 instead of at 5)

MIKEnDC 12-11-08 01:02 PM

yuk. My least favorite riding: cold rain. 40F/4 or 5C and steady. Normally I post after the morning ride, but it looks not to matter today--conditions as steady as the rain...

T-Hussy 12-11-08 01:50 PM

Good riding in denver, the ice/snow is almost completely melted off the roads

caloso 12-11-08 02:08 PM

Rode the fixed gear in this morning, just for a change of pace. I'd been riding the race bike lately since my buddy and I have been trying to reestablish our off-season training routine.

Itsjustb 12-11-08 02:36 PM

Terrible week of commuting for me. My kid got a stomach virus Sunday; I had to stay home Monday & Tuesday. I biked to work yesterday, but the weather was supposed to be REALLY crappy today (continuous rain and t-storms) so I drove. First time I've taken the car to work all year, I think.

Back on the bike tomorrow.

noteon 12-11-08 03:38 PM

Rode in this morning.

The stomach thing bit me about a hour ago.

Train home tonight.

JoeyBike 12-11-08 04:22 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by JoeyBike (Post 7999784)
I would love to get my Pugsley up there to play in the snow.

Posted this ^^ yesterday. Me and my BIG mouth.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1229034054

5th snow in my 50 years in NOLA. My Pugsley finally rolled through the white stuff. ( I use it at the beach usually )

NOLA SNOW Video - 2 minutes

http://www.vimeo.com/2500778

harleyfrog 12-11-08 04:51 PM


Originally Posted by JoeyBike (Post 8005369)
Posted this ^^ yesterday. Me and my BIG mouth.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1229034054

5th snow in my 50 years in NOLA. My Pugsley finally rolled through the white stuff. ( I use it at the beach usually )

Video to follow.....

Somehow we missed the snow here in Biloxi. I can't stand cold damp weather, and I grew up in Michigan. I'm glad I still have my wool top coat and fur bomber hat. :D Stay warm, bro.

Big_e 12-11-08 05:43 PM

After about 3 days of strong winds, the weather finally calmed down. This morning was the first ride since before Thanksgiving! I was feeling restless so I took the bike back out this morning. The ride to work was uneventful, just the way I like it. The temp was about 32 degrees and I wore a fleece hoodie and a windbreaker over that and jeans. I was sweating by the time I got to work! The ride home was calm and alot warmer. It felt good to ride again.
Ernest

Nick C 12-11-08 06:02 PM

WORST COMMUTE EVER!
Today started off on a bad note, and just got worse and worse with a series of unfortunate events. I woke up at 5:00 AM, an hour and a half earlier than usual. I headed out on my ride in, and it started off ok. The roads were dry after a few weeks of wet weather, and I really wasn't feeling to tired, just a little slower than usual. On the last leg of my commute, about 5 min. from school, I passed the 988 bus as it was picking up passengers. There was a stoplight up ahead, and I got through on the yellow, so it was a while before the bus caught back up to me. On a narrow two lane road, it swung out into oncoming traffic, and tried to pass me. Unfortunately, the driver failed to realize he was driving a slow, long bus, and had to swerve back into my lane before the end of the bus passed me, forcing me onto about 3 in. of shoulder, luckily not onto the mud after that point. This is the third time I have had trouble with this particular route/driver, he previously ran a red, turned wide and almost crushed me, as well as another instance of unsafe passing, that time buzzing me way to close.
On the way home, all is going well save for losing traction on the front wheel going up a steep hill (i saved it right before I fell), until I went to pass a slower cyclist. I moved out of the bike lane, was in the center of the car lane, and a motorist comes roaring by, buzzing both me and the car going the opposite direction.
Then, going down stone way, a long stretch with just enough of an incline for me to keep up with traffic, I am again in the center of the lane, when I see the cab of a small box truck way to close to me, I assume he was trying to pass me, and get into the non existent space between me and the car in front of me. After I looked back and yelled "What the f**k are you doing?" at him while he motioned for me to get over to the right, I accelerated and pulled all the way to the left, about one ft from the yellow line, where I spent the next five min, adrenaline pumping, franticly accelerating and slowing down to keep up with the garbage truck in front of me so the truck driver wouldn't try to get into any small gap I made.
To top it all off I got stuck for ten min. waiting for the Fremont Bridge.

I sorry about the extremely long and badly written post, I'm still shaking from anger/adrenaline, and I really needed to vent.

UberIM 12-11-08 07:31 PM


Originally Posted by Nick C (Post 8005853)
WORST COMMUTE EVER!
Today started off on a bad note, and just got worse and worse with a series of unfortunate events. I woke up at 5:00 AM, an hour and a half earlier than usual. I headed out on my ride in, and it started off ok. The roads were dry after a few weeks of wet weather, and I really wasn't feeling to tired, just a little slower than usual. On the last leg of my commute, about 5 min. from school, I passed the 988 bus as it was picking up passengers. There was a stoplight up ahead, and I got through on the yellow, so it was a while before the bus caught back up to me. On a narrow two lane road, it swung out into oncoming traffic, and tried to pass me. Unfortunately, the driver failed to realize he was driving a slow, long bus, and had to swerve back into my lane before the end of the bus passed me, forcing me onto about 3 in. of shoulder, luckily not onto the mud after that point. This is the third time I have had trouble with this particular route/driver, he previously ran a red, turned wide and almost crushed me, as well as another instance of unsafe passing, that time buzzing me way to close.
On the way home, all is going well save for losing traction on the front wheel going up a steep hill (i saved it right before I fell), until I went to pass a slower cyclist. I moved out of the bike lane, was in the center of the car lane, and a motorist comes roaring by, buzzing both me and the car going the opposite direction.
Then, going down stone way, a long stretch with just enough of an incline for me to keep up with traffic, I am again in the center of the lane, when I see the cab of a small box truck way to close to me, I assume he was trying to pass me, and get into the non existent space between me and the car in front of me. After I looked back and yelled "What the f**k are you doing?" at him while he motioned for me to get over to the right, I accelerated and pulled all the way to the left, about one ft from the yellow line, where I spent the next five min, adrenaline pumping, franticly accelerating and slowing down to keep up with the garbage truck in front of me so the truck driver wouldn't try to get into any small gap I made.
To top it all off I got stuck for ten min. waiting for the Fremont Bridge.

I sorry about the extremely long and badly written post, I'm still shaking from anger/adrenaline, and I really needed to vent.

Sounds awful.....and scary....sorry.....Have you reported the bus driver......he needs some education (cyclists are so vulnerable to the rear wheels of 18 wheelers and also long trucks, buses........drivers and cyclists often don't realize this-I have seen/read about many fatalities related to rt turns by long trucks and cyclists getting caught under the rear right wheel)....... and perhaps some disciplining........

Be safe out there.........

metalchef87 12-11-08 08:17 PM

Cold, wet, and very very slick! It has been snowing for the past two hours, maybe an inch or two on the ground. I don't have knobby tires on my commuter yet, because it doesn't snow often, and I don't want to sacrifice speed on dry days. Anyway I came around a curve, going maybe 7mph and my front tire washed out, but I didn't go down, I counter steered and feathered the brakes, the bike straightened and I continued through the curve. It all happened very quickly and it was really just natural, I didn't have time to think about it. So that got me thinking that maybe I am a better rider than I give myself credit for sometimes.

Beautiful ride home otherwise. I am going to get some knobbies soon and ride in the snow often...I really like it.

scottmorrison99 12-11-08 08:31 PM

Sucked. As if two flats on the way in weren't enough, (seperate punctures), some dirtbag at work stole two PB Superflashes off my bike, which was in the breakroom, as it has been for some three years of commutes without any problems. My boss is bringing it up in the morning meeting tomorrow, along with the fact that not only is this is a firing offense, it is dangerous if I ride home without a taillight. I happened to have another taillight at work so I made it home safe but angry. If only u lock justice were legal in such cases.:notamused:

robtown 12-11-08 09:32 PM

My first commute (due to illness) since a week ago. 40F and steady rain. My new showers pass jacket/hood and custom rain proof tights worked great. I wasn't 100% dry but was as comfortable as a 65F dry ride. I forgot my camelback with tools/pump but fortunately did not need them.
The most hassle was the fogging and rain coating my glasses.

jyossarian 12-11-08 09:57 PM

Riding the subway yesterday was enough to make me ride in the rain and sleet today. That's how sucky the subway ride was.

buzzman 12-11-08 11:05 PM

cold and wet- super rain on the way in this morning.

cold and wet- super rain on the way home tonight.

didn't see many other bike riders today- just a couple of joggers on the MUP.

SDBluefish 12-11-08 11:10 PM

Gorgeous weather today - temps in the 50s and 60s. One of the most beautiful sunsets in weeks as I started for home - I kept it in my rearview as much as I could and stopped a couple of times just to turn around and gaze. And then a big ol full moon in front of me for the rest of the ride. MUP quiet and dark, all to myself. Ye Gods I love San Diego!

floriderron 12-12-08 10:54 AM

Great ride, 60's and rain.


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