How was the commute today?
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Joined: Jul 2008
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From: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
drummingpariah - what was your tire doing?
GATC

Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,838
Likes: 182
From: south Puget Sound
38F and grey. Drier than yesterday but less sunny. Patches of downpour going home last night! My 7 yr old just matter of factly dried his seat off last night and hopped on to go home, previously he's been wailing if I ever let him see evidence that his seat has ever not been perfectly dry.
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,798
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From: Highland Park, NJ, USA
Bikes: "Hildy", a Novara Randonee touring bike; a 16-speed Bike Friday Tikit; and a Specialized Stumpjumper frame-based built-up MTB, now serving as the kid-carrier, grocery-getter.
I pulled up next to another bike commuter this morning - the first other one I've seen since moving. I said to her, "I don't see many cyclists this early." The light turned, and she mumbled "Gotta get to work."
Bicycle commuters sure are an unfriendly bunch...
Bicycle commuters sure are an unfriendly bunch...
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My bands:
- Uke On! - ukulele duo - Videos
- Ukulele Abyss - ukulele cover videos - Videos
- Baroque and Hungry's (Celtic fusion) full-length studio album Mended.
- Artistic Differences - 8-track EP Dreams of Bile and Blood.
Senior Member


Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 30,454
Likes: 4,543
From: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
no, just a typical woman avoiding a typical man
Still Spinning
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: NRH, TX
Bikes: Leader 717R
Beautiful out there this morning. Got a late start but it was wonderful. Light 7 mph tailwind and a sunny 58. I was enjoying it so much I locked up my brakes twice. Once a car was pulling out in front of me from the left (but to their credit, they came to a complete stop well in time). I should have been watching. The second time was all my fault. I'm drilling it up a hill, head down. Almost didn't see the garbage truck in front of me until too late.
Ahhh, it was a good ride.
Ahhh, it was a good ride.
drummingpariah - what was your tire doing?
a fine commute in this morning but a totally weird ride home.
In my years of riding along the Charles River I've spotted two bodies in the river, pulled a guy out who'd jumped from a railroad bridge (attempted suicide) and broken his leg and found a woman lying unconscious across the path still clipped into the pedals on her brand new bike.
Tonight, it was late- 10pm or so, and as I come around a corner and am about to cross a road that intersects with a bridge I see a disheveled man in a white shirt, torn open, bloody and looking like he's about to jump. I stop and get him talking, he's drunk and crying and incoherent. Then he wanders into the road and stands there looking like he's about to get hit. I finally get him out of the road and talking to me. I lure him away from the bridge by promising to help him look for the cell phone, keys and wallet, which he says he has tossed away in a nearby parking lot. What I really wanted to do was call the cops but I didn't want him to freak if I did and jump in the river.
We go together to get his phone and we find it in pieces but on the way I get him to give me a number to call to get someone to come pick him up. I call it and no one answers but then he tells me it was his girlfriend's # and she has a restraining order out on him!
That did it. I got him looking around the building for his phone and I took off like a shot and called the cops. But, whew, it was creepy and scary. Hopefully, the upside of this is that I might have kept someone from doing themselves in but I hope this guy hadn't just done something horrible. This creeped me out.
In my years of riding along the Charles River I've spotted two bodies in the river, pulled a guy out who'd jumped from a railroad bridge (attempted suicide) and broken his leg and found a woman lying unconscious across the path still clipped into the pedals on her brand new bike.
Tonight, it was late- 10pm or so, and as I come around a corner and am about to cross a road that intersects with a bridge I see a disheveled man in a white shirt, torn open, bloody and looking like he's about to jump. I stop and get him talking, he's drunk and crying and incoherent. Then he wanders into the road and stands there looking like he's about to get hit. I finally get him out of the road and talking to me. I lure him away from the bridge by promising to help him look for the cell phone, keys and wallet, which he says he has tossed away in a nearby parking lot. What I really wanted to do was call the cops but I didn't want him to freak if I did and jump in the river.
We go together to get his phone and we find it in pieces but on the way I get him to give me a number to call to get someone to come pick him up. I call it and no one answers but then he tells me it was his girlfriend's # and she has a restraining order out on him!
That did it. I got him looking around the building for his phone and I took off like a shot and called the cops. But, whew, it was creepy and scary. Hopefully, the upside of this is that I might have kept someone from doing themselves in but I hope this guy hadn't just done something horrible. This creeped me out.
Weather was great. Had a funny incident when I picked my daughter up from daycare. As I was getting my daughter's helmet on her, a little boy leaving asked "You going to ride that bike?" Upon responding yes, the kid looked at his dad, pointed at me, and said "Why can't..." The kid's dad, shut the door and glared at me.
Great ride in. Quiet and dark as usual. I rode my Columbia Tourist today. Stopped at the donut shop for my sausage rolls.
Ernest
Ernest
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
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From: Columbia, Maryland
Bikes: Trek 820 mtb, A no name red steel pipe bike, my commuter
A light, but steady rain, then harder as I got into my ride. I had to take my riding glasses off to see in the dark. The temp was 40 F ( 4 C) so that was not bad. Everything got wet, but nothing got cold. The bottom of my paniers are getting wet and transferring the wetness to my clothes. I'll have to find a water repellent spray of some sort. Hopefully, one that does not emit toxins everywhere.
GATC

Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,838
Likes: 182
From: south Puget Sound
gorgeous warm (50F!) sunny ride home last night. Current bike parking is on the back deck, noticed a rear wheel flat while glancing out the window. Slow leak apparently.
Belt drive!
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,614
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From: Burlington, Vermont
Bikes: 2011 Trek Soho DLX

That's some crazy stuff, but very cool of you to handle it. Maybe one day the guy's life will be straightened out and he'll think about that guy on the bicycle who helped him out.
My commute was far less interesting. Low 30sF. No wind. Another sunny morning. I was cruising along at a reasonable pace. Passed one guy on an MTB. Saw a couple of riders going the other way. That's about it.
Senior Member

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,096
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From: Alexandria, VA
Bikes: IRO Model 19, Surly Crosscheck, 1989 Arnie Nashbar, Cannondale CAADX, Niner Air 9
fletchh: pack your stuff in plastic bags, either large ziplock or grocery bags-problem solved.
Commute wasn't bad, I've recently been more consicouse of upping my calories and it's paying off, I had decent energy today. The temp was near 50 and the light drizzle is, actually, kinda nice. It's like a moisturizing facial (or something) on the way in, my skin feels nice and smooooth. It feels good to breath too. Didn't see another cyclist, only a couple of joggers. Hopefully we're getting to the tail end of all this rain.
Commute wasn't bad, I've recently been more consicouse of upping my calories and it's paying off, I had decent energy today. The temp was near 50 and the light drizzle is, actually, kinda nice. It's like a moisturizing facial (or something) on the way in, my skin feels nice and smooooth. It feels good to breath too. Didn't see another cyclist, only a couple of joggers. Hopefully we're getting to the tail end of all this rain.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 328
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From: Antioch, IL
Bikes: Giant Defy Advanced 0, Rivendell- Sam Hillborne, Montague folding bike.
Nice day today temps mid 40f, tail wind and overcast. Forcast is for sun later. Finally, a break from two days of rain. (Wimped out, 20-30 headwinds, 35f, and rain no longer seems fun).
Downtown Mndelein, I ride in the middle of right lane, in the 100 yards or so before lane ends. Traffic is heavy and some jerk in a beater gets right behind me and lays on the horn. He's trying to pass a couple of cars on their right. Jerk. Otherwise, nice pleasant ride.
Downtown Mndelein, I ride in the middle of right lane, in the 100 yards or so before lane ends. Traffic is heavy and some jerk in a beater gets right behind me and lays on the horn. He's trying to pass a couple of cars on their right. Jerk. Otherwise, nice pleasant ride.
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bright and sunny
no wind
my legs were a little tired because i put in some extra miles last night...i always feel faster at night
i am thinking about putting my brake back on soon, just need to adjust them and lube the pivot points a bit...want to save the knees
no wind
my legs were a little tired because i put in some extra miles last night...i always feel faster at night
i am thinking about putting my brake back on soon, just need to adjust them and lube the pivot points a bit...want to save the knees
Senior Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,798
Likes: 1
From: Highland Park, NJ, USA
Bikes: "Hildy", a Novara Randonee touring bike; a 16-speed Bike Friday Tikit; and a Specialized Stumpjumper frame-based built-up MTB, now serving as the kid-carrier, grocery-getter.
Rainy and the trains were all late. I talked to a woman who had a singlespeed Strida. My seatpost started slipping at the end of the commute.
__________________
Tour Journals, Blog, ride pix
My bands:
Tour Journals, Blog, ride pix
My bands:
- Uke On! - ukulele duo - Videos
- Ukulele Abyss - ukulele cover videos - Videos
- Baroque and Hungry's (Celtic fusion) full-length studio album Mended.
- Artistic Differences - 8-track EP Dreams of Bile and Blood.
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Posts: n/a
Morning commute was a tad brisk at -7C, but really nice. I was just about to enter my data from the ride only to find that all the data that is resettable, was reset. Which is very odd, must've been a power glitch because that's like a 4 step process to reset EVERYTHING.
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Plus 4 C this morning and no wind.
Kept ending ahead of a fairly new BMW M3 by filtering down side streets rather then sticking to the main roads then meeting up at a red light. Boy did he take it personal and just about drove into the back of a city bus after blasting away when the light turned green.
I know we should aviod this personality type but it can be fun sometimes.
Kept ending ahead of a fairly new BMW M3 by filtering down side streets rather then sticking to the main roads then meeting up at a red light. Boy did he take it personal and just about drove into the back of a city bus after blasting away when the light turned green.
I know we should aviod this personality type but it can be fun sometimes.
Mekanicul Enjuneer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
From: Snohomish, WA
Bikes: Specialized Sequoia
Thick fog and 37F as I took off this morning. A little hairy for the first few miles, hopeing the cars would notice my obnoxious lights, till the sun poked up and brightened things up. I got absolutely DUSTED by a fellow bike commuter about half way through. Man, some day I dream about being able to maintain a pace like that! All in all a great ride, and the weather should be glorious for the ride home.
You gonna eat that?
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,917
Likes: 543
From: Fort Worth, Texas Church of Hopeful Uncertainty
Bikes: 1966 Raleigh DL-1 Tourist, 1973 Schwinn Varsity, 1983 Raleigh Marathon, 1994 Nishiki Sport XRS
It was cool yesterday, I wore jeans. Seemed a little cooler this morning so I put on jeans. By the time I started riding it had warmed up probably 5-10 degrees and by the time I got to work I was a sweaty mess. Bleh.
GATC

Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,838
Likes: 182
From: south Puget Sound
Gorgeous sunny morning. 42F (up 12F from when I got the paper!)
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 74
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From: Austin, TX
Bikes: Fuji RC supreme road bike and an old reworked Raleigh Super Record mixte made in Japan for commuting
Nice ride in this morning 60ish and sunny. Should be a good ride home too, but it's supposed to rain tomorrow and Friday, so I may be bussing instead of riding
Can't Re Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 364
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From: Wooster OH
Bikes: 2009 Randonee, 2014 Bike Friday NWT
Unbelievably gorgeous day to ride. Loving my new Randonee, but haven't quite hit on the right arrangement of bags and/or panniers. My commute is ride-->subway-->ride. As I put on my helmet to leave the subway a guy told me, "I love a woman in uniform!"
Then he asked me if I worked for a courier service. That pleased me: I must look like I belong on the bike (instead of in the loony bin, which is what I think I look like).
Then he asked me if I worked for a courier service. That pleased me: I must look like I belong on the bike (instead of in the loony bin, which is what I think I look like).
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Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
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From: Sacramento, California, USA
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Another brutal NW wind.





