Yesterday at lunch I had a new experience. We had a lunch meeting in another part of town so rode to the train station wearing Docker shorts and an Izod shirt. :eek: When we got to our stop we rode about 1/3 mile to the restaurant.
After lunch we got back on the train and my boss couldn't get his bike free for our stop (he had it locked with a handicap restraint :rolleyes: so it wouldn't roll around) so we ended up going to the next stop. Ended up riding thru a crappy section of town. I hit a pothole (didn't see it - I was watching a car that passed me really close). Had a front blowout two blocks later. :crash: Put in a new tube and continued on to work.
Let's see, two bad no-nos:
- riding in semi-dress clothes http://users.telenet.be/eforum/emoticons4u/mad/011.gif
- missing our stop and riding thru the wrong part of town http://users.telenet.be/eforum/emoticons4u/mad/011.gif


But the ride home was awesome. Just missed the afternoon rain by 10 minutes. :beer:

I've been having a broken spoke problem with my Dahon. Apparently the wheel wasn't built properly. The solution is not necessarily to get whole new wheel, at least in my case. I'm dropping off the bike on my way home to have the wheel rebuilt, in fact (same rim and hub).

Commute today was dandy again. The cooler weather is pure delight to ride in at 6:30AM. I imagine come winter time it will be, ummm, interesting at that hour. :D

I saw something really funny today. At RSD and 79th, a dude was on a hybrid/MTB in regular clothes, helmet hanging off the bars, left hand controlling the bike, right hand holding... Starbucks! It looked like maybe a Frappuccino (haha like I can tell). The guy made a right turn and head for what looked like the highway. Maybe he knows of a entrance to Riverside Park that I don't, maybe he was just nuts. :)

Not so funny, though was a few blocks from home. A guy with MD plates zoomed ahead of me while I was dodging a dollar van standing in the bike lane (BL nazis STFU -- I ride far enough left, trust me). It wasn't a really good buzzing, more of an honorable mention. Anyhow, this dude then slows his car to a crawl and eventually pulls over into the bike lane. WTF? Well, at the red light right there I actually stop (red light crowd goes wild!), to wait for the cop going the other way. Light changes, I flag down cop and ask him to tell the guy parked in the bike lane to get out of there. The cop had the onions to tell me "He's not parked" because the dude's engine was still running. W - T - F? I'm pretty sure the law is that no standing is allowed but this cop, who was in one of those little traffic-mobiles, not a cruiser simply didn't give a bleep. And they wonder why 1) people don't like them and 2) we don't want to give them a raise. :rolleyes:

This morning I went to work very early, 5:00AM. It was nice, very cool and dark. The ride was quick as staying dry is not a problem when work starts early. 8 minutes 37 seconds later I was at the office.

Once again I completed a week only commuting by bike, I feel really good about that.

Definately is something to feel good about. I got 4 out of 5 days this week. But the best news is that my car will be sold on Monday! My wife has an SUV so I won't be carless but I'll be commuting to work 100% of the time!

I had a beautiful ride in this morning. The sun was out and shining bright which was a warm welcome after all the fog and overcast days we've had all week.

Cool and breezy in the Capital City. Lucky that it was a tailwind coming in.

First time I did all 5 days commuting. With gas prices, may have to ride 5 days a week for quite some time.

Bad day for commuting, got 3 flats :eek: ya three damn flats and only had 2 tubes- going to buy some different tires tomorrow morning. Was a hell of a experience walking around east palo alto in lycra shorts and a bright yellow jersey (talk about a humbling experience) looking for some patches - then i find a autozone buy some patches and start to patch up flat number 2 (number 3 was a pinch flat) while attempting to air up the tires with the Co2 I noticed the tires were not inflating...so i held my ground (and the button heh) BANG!! the damn inflator deal blew apart and the Co2 cartridge shot off somewhere, never did find it. Lady in a car next to me thought a gun went off and was ready to cry. So now im like faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk :mad: :mad: and start digging for my presta adapter - of course there is none to be found...where in the hell (had just bought 2 days ago)

so im screwed. called a buddy that was nice enough to hit up a bike shop and bring me parts...by the time this was all said and done it was 1:30 so i fixed up my bike and turned around to head home. Just got off the phone with the boss and am calling this day a wash.

im going to go pound about 6 beers right now :p


on the flip side this is the second week ive successfully commuted 3 days a week for a total of 150 miles per week (approx 50 miles a day)

cheers
kj

40 mile round tripper......need to get some padded shorts.

Sounds like a rough day!



My hat's off to you... that's quite a commute. :beer:

Another "all ride week" for me. Although my engine's a little tired today it feels good to be completely independant of the car amidst these crazy gas prices (Metro too-goes without saying). Got caught in a moderate drizzle on the way home, but it felt good-good and cool.

arg...you might want to keep an eye on your mileage. If it happens again in under 200 miles check see if it's flatting in the same place...it so maybe it's the rim or rim tape.

Excellent ride...working on HR which seems to be dropping slightly on the ascents... HR is staying more in aeorbic. Will gradually build the speed back up cuz it's taking 4ever to get to work at these dog-slow speeds :o

Excellent weather past 3 weeks...foggy in the AM...fall is in the air -- oh so soon!

got the 17mile commute down to around 50 minutes, depending on my energy level, traffic, etc. and i am so looking forward to tomorrow's ride.

Looks to be an awesome day for commuting. No rain in a few day, temps in the low to mid 90s, lots of sunshine. What else could you ask for? How about a day off from work? :rolleyes: Not a chance, so I'll be heading out the door in a few minutes. :o

Got sick, missed my commute today and last Friday. *Curses!*

I don't like Mondays. (Boomtown Rats!)

The commute was nice. Low 60s. Sunny. But I still don't like Mondays. Saw a lot more cyclists than normal. Most were heading in the opposite direction.

Lots of mourning doves out & about. Plus a flock of seagulls. (The birds, not the band.)

Good ride in today. Kept a good pace until I got stopped by a train. Ended up having to go around to a bridge (damn train stopped).

bayareawheeler, three flats just like that? Something's wrong there. When you changed out the tubes, were you very careful to check for whatever caused the flat? Crazy getting three flats like that! If they were all pinch flats, new tires may be the least of your worries (maybe your rim is toast?).

No commute this morning for me. The rear wheel on the the Dahon is being rebuilt at the LBS. Should be done in time for the commute home (this shop is closer to work than home) so I brought my bike gear with me on the subway. :)

Had a nice ride to work this morning. It was nice and cool. I forgot my water bottle, but didn't turn back for it. Last hot afternoon today, then mid 80's the rest of the week.

Easy ride in today. I didn't ride over the weekend but did a stretch class at the gym, so the legs were feeling good and fresh. I wasn't paying much attention while going uphill on a concrete road, and the front tyre fell into the large gap between the lanes. Fortunately it popped out again pretty quickly and didn't bring the bike to a grinding halt!

Saw 5 other commuter cyclists, 3 roadies out training, and an older couple out for a cruise on their hybrids.

That's the exact length of my commute. Could you fill me in on what yours is like -- terrain, traffic, etc? I'm curious whether I can ever aspire to do my route, which has no traffic but is full of hills, in just 50 minutes. Thanks!

Its getting colder here, can't wear shorts anymore so i had to put pants on this morning for my commute :(.

Oh, to have transit to supplement my bike commuting. The buses in my town don't run to where any of the bike shops are located. When I have to leave my bike in the shop I have to drive it there (which always makes me feel distinctly unclean). I'm fortunate, however, to have a backup bike to use while my commuter is being worked on.

The commute today was fine. The weather was cooler and this morning there was even a hint of fall in the air. My morning commute - starting at 6:30 a.m. when the air is fresh and cool and the traffic is light - is nearly always mental hygiene of the first rank and one of the high points of my day. This evening I made near record time - no headwind and I made nearly all the lights.

i've decided to suit up for work from now on. no more get up and go... button up with tie, nice loose skirt and flats. tough luck riding in this get up (i looked hella cute though!). i guess i'll have to start bringing a change. i was so uncomfortable, i biked two quick miles downtown and hopped the subway to the other location (my job requires a lot of daily travel, thank god!).
on the way home from there, i took an another route on a smaller street and encountered massive traffic on a two - lane residential lined with parked cars. give me hollywood blvd. any day! this street was horrible! not only was i terrified that i was about to be doored at any moment but a bus kept alternately passing me and cutting me off. there was a stretch of road full of construction pebbles (not gravel, but marbles), and some vato yelled at me to get on the effing sidewalk!
by the way, if anyone knows the best way to pass buses and other cars lined up in the right lane at a red, do tell. splitting lanes like a motorcycle seems safer than sticking to the right because of right turns, but is this the correct procedure on a bike? and what of left turns? is it best to bide your time behind the other cars, or should you take the right side up to the front?

the commute today was so so so so good. 52 minutes, and i dont have a computer, and havent driven it out yet, im pretty sure its around 17 miles.

but yeah, had a little issue with my rear wheel rubbing against the frame, couldnt get it to sit right, so i bought a spoke wrench and im going to fiddle with it soon.

the best part of the commute is the return cause its late, generally after midnight and i get the roads to myself, maybe 5 to 15 cars the whole time. cool too. and there is this view over a lake and above some trees that makes me swoon and im sure one day will cause a crash. sigh.

On Riverside Drive today, as I was passing Grant's Tomb (heading South, BTW) I had an interesting exchange with an idiot, I mean driver. There are two very wide lanes there. I always take a full lane there for that very reason -- I can without disrupting traffic and it is of course safer than riding anywhere near the door zone (and often cars pull-up there momentarily, which means they pull out often as well, you get the picture).

Anyhow some moron decides that the left lane isn't good enough for her. And start to honk at me. I ignore it, of course. The bleeping bleep then decides it's a good idea to drive up to me, between lanes, honk some more and wave at the sidewalk. I didn't get a chance to say "learn the law before making a fool of yourself again" because she promptly drove off at high speed. At this point I didn't feel very threatened (I was really amused) so I lofted the one-finger salute. I was rather impressed to see a return salute from the driver some 50+ meters away (sharp eyes, if not sharp intellect).

It was dumb to flip the bird, but it sure felt good. Call me a wuss if you will for flipping it only because I didn't feel threatended by the driver.

Another nice morning commute. Low 60s. Sunny. Light headwind, nothing terrible.

On my ride home last night I came upon two heavily-laden recumbents. Lots of bags hanging off the back of their rides. Looked impressive.

And from the weird side of things: I've noticed more and more bicycles turning up in odd locations and staying there for days. Unlocked. Lying in weeds. Leaning against street signs. Stolen and dumped, perhaps?

It's been a while since I've posted here because it's been a while since I've been able to ride. This morning was good I felt great all the way in with 81 degrees and no wind and very light traffic. We shall see if the heat goes above 100 today… this might adversely affect my ride home.

Cheers

Had a bit of a 'terrorist moment' this morning. I was crossing a bridge right next to one of our rapid rail stations, packed with people waiting for the train and buses, when I hear: Bang! Bang! I'm thinking, oh sh#t, what was that? But nothing else seemed to happen, it must have been something like a car backfire.

Lovely living in our modern world. :rolleyes: Although this isn't the future I signed up for when I was a kid (flying cars, vacations on the moon, and robots to clean the toilet), any day I can ride my bike to work is a good day. Happy trails!