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Ride was okay this morning. 10-15MPH headwind but for some reason it didn't seem to slow me down. I did lose some energy during the last mile or so though. Temps in the low 40s, overcast. My co-worker was astounded that I rode without a jacket. :) (Also, shorts, and no gloves, just to freak out you southerners...)
On the MUP, I saw one cyclist going the other way, and I think 3 peds. Plus one kitty. :D http://grantrobertson.com/wp-content...01/bubbles.jpg |
Originally Posted by vtjim
(Post 6720177)
(Also, shorts, and no gloves, just to freak out you southerners...)
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I rode my first commute on the new bike today. Getting used to a road bike again after two decades on a mountain bike is takign some getting used to. I took it easy, but once I get used to the drop bars and pedal cages (or whatever I end up with on the pedals, I can see putting some PowerGrips on), I'll be trimming some time off this 4 hr RT commute.
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Not the best day for a bike commute... A very humid 87 degrees at 8 in the morning and on top of that, smokey air (Everglades are on fire), but on the bright side, didn't have to deal with much winds.
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Put the Powergrips back on because the sole of my bike shoe broke in half right across where the cleat mounts. They were a PITA to get my shoe in. I need to replace my bike shoes ASAP.
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Nice commute this morning to the light rail. Feeling a tad sluggish from my Saturday century and the ensuing sunburn. Anyhow, I was passed by an older gentleman on a beatup hybrid with skinny tires while I was riding my MTB with huge knobby tires. I hung on the back of him due to the fact that he was not going fast enough when he decided to pass me. Dude set a good pace until I think he became annoyed and put the hammer down and dropped me like a bad habit.
I want to be that guy when I get older. I sure am not now. :p |
Originally Posted by vtjim
(Post 6720177)
(Also, shorts, and no gloves, just to freak out you southerners...)
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Good ride this morning. I took a different route than usual to return a book at the UofIs graduate library. With school out, campus wasn't bad - and it was an interesting negotiation of dedicated bike paths, MUPs, and plain ol' street. I'm glad I did it without the traffic!
So, getting here was twice as far and twice as long - but that can be a good thing some days! Plenty of birds out - plenty of other commuters (even if you factor out the obvious students). |
Low 60s and low humidity...gorgeous ride! :)
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great ride in this morning...legs were sluggish though...maybe the ride home will be better- should be about 78 when I leave
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Nice warm sunny. High 50s/lows 60sF. Weather report actually announced 15mph headwind I can anticipate at go-home time.
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omg.
Bad one. Sorry to hear it.
Originally Posted by rschulze
(Post 6701058)
On the 25th of last month I was making good time home on a perfect afternoon along the southern california coast. It was shattered by a small sink hole in a new patch of pavement; there was no asphalt missing, no jagged edge to alert me to danger, just a perfectly smooth little sink hole in a 10ft by 20ft patch of pavement.
I was doing about 25 when I entered the hole at which time the bike dropped to zero in about one inch, I hardly slowed at all. Lucky for my bike my face absorbed the initial impact. Facial abrasions, three cuts in my face, none stitchable but one very close. Road rash everywhere. My right shoulder was dislocated badly, I pulled my arm from it's position behind my back and rotated the arm up over my side. Luckily it just rotated back in for the most part. A broken humerous (spelling?) that radiated up into my shoulder cracking it into six pieces. Luckily the shoulder position was good enough where they didn't have to pin me back together and I just went in for x-rays every three days to make sure the shoulder stayed put and bone started growing. Today is my first day without the cast. The arm is so sore and weak it's practically useless; I start PT on Monday. I'll be calling the bike shop right after I post this to get the news on my bike. |
Felt sluggish but the HRM and the cyclometer say otherwise. Funny how that works sometimes.
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I'm looking at my first 100F+ commute this PM - forecast to be 109F.
While 109F is relatively cool for mid-summer, it has come suddenly - all previous PM commutes this year have been 90F and under. "A STRONG AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL MAKE FOR UNSEASONABLY HOT TEMPERATURES THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS THIS WEEK...WITH AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES FROM 15 TO 20 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. IN FACT...IF THE OFFICIAL HIGH TEMPERATURE AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR REACHES THE PREDICTED HIGH OF 110 DEGREES TODAY /MONDAY/...IT WILL MARK THE FIRST TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY THAT THE INITIAL 100 DEGREE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF THE SEASON WAS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED THE NEXT DAY BY THE FIRST 110 DEGREE READING." Al |
Wow! I saw this thread and thought how interesting can it be to read about someones ride to work, boy I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed reading about your ride and observations. I'm going to try and be more observant from now on. I tend to let my mind drift while I enjoy my ride and am not usually aware that I'm thinking at all; thoughts seem to flow and meander from one subject to the next sort of like the bike paths and back streets I ride to get to work.
Originally Posted by girljen
(Post 6718630)
The ride to work was beautiful. I love riding to work, watching the sun rise and enjoying 50F weather. I'm gonna get spoiled by rides like that.
All the philosophizing and navel-gazing I did was able to distract me from the fact that I had just ridden 3 miles uphill, though. |
For those of you who hate reading people's responses to previous posts, you might want to skip my next few posts after this one. I was busy most of last week and couldn't respond till now ;)
Anyway...for the 2nd year in a row I was only able to ride 2 of the 5 days of BtWW. This kills me, as I'm a 5-day-a-week commuter (yeah, I know BtWW is just another week on the calendar, same as any other, but...). Friday there was a BtWW breakfast an extra 1.5 miles past my building. My neighbor's son wants to get more CV exercise so he joined me for the ride (in the rain...he picked a great day to start out!) and we stopped, hung out, got some free stuff. Saturday my company had their annual summer celebration on the lawn in front of my building. Fearing parking nightmares (and because I like being different) I rode to the event and took my 15-month-old daughter in the bike trailer. OK, it's a MUCH different commute when hauling the trailer (25, 30 pounds?) and the kid (25 pounds?) on the mountain bike (30 pounds?). I only weigh 140 pounds so for me that's a lot of weight! I was pretty tired when I got home (carrying the kid around much of the afternoon didn't help). Today's ride was uneventful. |
Originally Posted by tarwheel
(Post 6691565)
....The latest forecast calls for no rain on Sat and Sun for the first time since March.
Originally Posted by Intheloonybin
(Post 6696270)
Great ride to work. Great ride home until:
Riding through an intersection at a stop light when I hear PEEP PEEP PEEP! I look over and see a baby duck running around the cars that are stopped. I quickly dumped the bike in the grass and go try to get said duck. Finally get it out from under two different cars. Call my wife to get me, as I can't let it go with no mom around and it's by a busy street. No biking home with a baby duck! Now we have to decide whether to raise another duck (had one last year) or bring it in to the wild life shelter... The kids think they want to raise another duck... LOL
Originally Posted by ObjectAgnosia
(Post 6717124)
....My only gripe with today's ride into work I was passing cars on the right while approaching a red light, about 10 cars deep. I spot a driver of a ford SUV lookin at me in her side view mirror. As I get closer, she starts to turn her SUV into the curb to block me! I manage to squeeze by, but seriously I just don't understand that kind of person....
1) (My theory) They're just ***holes. 2) (My wife's theory) They don't want to have to pass you again because they're not comfortable passing cyclists. 3) (A few people on BF have floated this one, and to some extent I agree) Since cyclists so often strongly demand our rights to the road--taking the lane and such--drivers feel we should obey the law in this regard and not filter to the front. Like I said, to some extent I agree with #3. Personally I don't filter unless either there's a bike lane or (as is the case on my alternate route) there's a screwed-up intersection where half the drivers are making left turns from the right lane (and at this intersection I usually filter in my car when I can). I don't mind people who do filter--they don't anger me nearly as much as red-light-jumpers, wrong-way cyclists, and people who jump from the road to the sidewalk and back--it's just a personal thing. |
Chilly for a late May but otherwise a nice ride except for one thing. As I was riding the elevator with my bike, I noticed a faint odor. Sure enough, there was some kind of animal poop on the tires. When I got to my office, I wiped them down with a Lysol disinfecting wipes and then sprayed some orange-scented aerosol which I usually hate. I hope I got rid of the smell. I can't smell anything now and I'm too embarassed to ask my colleagues if my office stinks. I will hose the bike down tonight.
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Originally Posted by Itsjustb
(Post 6722604)
Nice jinx, tarwheel! My Monday pickup Ultimate Frisbee game got cancelled tonight (for the nth week in a row, where n is a large number) because the fields are flooded.
Personally, that would make for a GREAT ride home! Alas, the only widlife I usually see are either geese or dead. :( I'm glad to hear you've got the duckling eating and drinking! I've heard a lot of theories about why people do this: 1) (My theory) They're just ***holes. 2) (My wife's theory) They don't want to have to pass you again because they're not comfortable passing cyclists. 3) (A few people on BF have floated this one, and to some extent I agree) Since cyclists so often strongly demand our rights to the road--taking the lane and such--drivers feel we should obey the law in this regard and not filter to the front. Like I said, to some extent I agree with #3. Personally I don't filter unless either there's a bike lane or (as is the case on my alternate route) there's a screwed-up intersection where half the drivers are making left turns from the right lane (and at this intersection I usually filter in my car when I can). I don't mind people who do filter--they don't anger me nearly as much as red-light-jumpers, wrong-way cyclists, and people who jump from the road to the sidewalk and back--it's just a personal thing. On that note, my little brother on his commute was congratulated by multiple drivers for riding his 08 giant rincon as a vehicle would, including using hand signals and traveling as a car would with the wonderful benefits of cycling. He has grown alot in that sense and that is great to see, we all need to improve on things myself included, Just great to know that not every driver of a vehilcle is so disrespectful of a cycle commuter. |
Originally Posted by Itsjustb
(Post 6722604)
I've heard a lot of theories about why people do this:
1) (My theory) They're just ***holes. 2) (My wife's theory) They don't want to have to pass you again because they're not comfortable passing cyclists. 3) (A few people on BF have floated this one, and to some extent I agree) Since cyclists so often strongly demand our rights to the road--taking the lane and such--drivers feel we should obey the law in this regard and not filter to the front. My theory is that they are jealous. Jealous that you are going faster than them, jealous that you can cut to the front and they are stuck there, jealous that you are out there having fun and they are stuck in a metal box, jealous that you are fitter and healthier than they are and jealous that you spend less on gas than they do. I'm not sure they realise this; it's kind of a subconscious jealousy. But it is there. Lovely commute today. Sunshine. Cold. Buzzed in early in light traffic. Fast and easy. |
Ride home was 18 miles in the rain, 52 degrees. I wasn't really prepared for that. It was supposed to be sunny and 65. Think I'll buy some rain gear.
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Today was going to be my first commute, but I wussed out. We are having an excessive heat warning through tomorrow. Yesterday it was 110*, today it was 107* and tomorrow is supposed to be just as hot. I have a 14 mile RT commute and I didn't think that today would be a good day to start. I haven't ridden more than 5 miles in one shot, yet. The heat warning ends tomorrow, and we're supposed to be back down to the 80's on Wednesday.
I'm kinda not ready anyways. I don't have my helmet, lights, spare tube, my new tires(my current ones have cracks in the sidewall), water bottles, rack, trunk bag, tools, etc yet. I'm waiting for them to arrive via Nashbar. If I had a flat or some other incident I wouldn't really be prepared. patience, patience, patience. I called today and was told that it shipped last Friday and that it should take 7-10 business days. So hopefully I'll have it by Friday or Saturday. I've got a three day weekend and I'd love to be able to get my bike all dialed in for the new work week so I could start fresh on Tuesday. |
Rode home w/ my left foot un gripped by the Powergrip. I couldn't get my foot in properly and after a while, I stopped trying. I need to get new commuter cycling shoes asap.
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nice commute today but it rained in the AM. 23 miles round trip.
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Originally Posted by trombone
(Post 6723710)
My theory is that they are jealous. Jealous that you are going faster than them, jealous that you can cut to the front and they are stuck there, jealous that you are out there having fun and they are stuck in a metal box, jealous that you are fitter and healthier than they are and jealous that you spend less on gas than they do.
I'm not sure they realise this; it's kind of a subconscious jealousy. But it is there. Lovely commute today. Sunshine. Cold. Buzzed in early in light traffic. Fast and easy. I had a guy driving this gigantic new Dodge truck cut me off at an intersection once. This ******* pulled right into the bike lane after looking right at me in the side view. (We made eye contact). I stop in time, barely. :eek: As I go to pull around him, he cackles annoyingly. I continue on my way, until a few minutes later when he passes me and throws a half-empty soda bottle at me. I was mad, but as karma sometimes goes, a COP WAS WATCHING :):):):) Not just any cop. A BIKE COP. He pulls the guy over and proceeds to rip into him for five straight minutes. He then takes his keys, arrests him, and has his car towed. I agreed to press assault charges, and according to my attorney, the dude had to pay a nasty fine, probation, my attorney fees, and to top it off: had his license taken away. Sometimes, there is justice in our cruel world. :) |
Well my first 100F commute of the year was also my first 110F officially. Not so bad, however I prefer to acclimatize a bit more slowly (up until now my warmest 2008 commute has been 95F, a 15F jump in a span of a couple days)
Thursday the high is forecast to be 74F. Crazy weather. Al |
Originally Posted by muckthatguy
(Post 6724478)
He pulls the guy over and proceeds to rip into him for five straight minutes. He then takes his keys, arrests him, and has his car towed. I agreed to press assault charges, and according to my attorney, the dude had to pay a nasty fine, probation, my attorney fees, and to top it off: had his license taken away.
Sometimes, there is justice in our cruel world. :) |
on the way to work the weather was perfect, just a tad windy, everything went smoothly, only my 2nd time commuting and the route is great, beat my first time by about 4 mins, so I was very happy with that...only almost got killed by one semi who almost merged into my face with the back of his trailer.
The ride home was nice as well, but there was a pretty killer wind (25mph with very strong gusts) coming from the SW...exactly the direction I was going. Even with the headwind, it was fun and I think I'm hooked. For now anyway, I'm going to just be a fairweather commuter, that may change. I enjoy it so much I think I'd like it better than the car even with the rain. Seriously, something about bike commuting tastes like freedom. I was describing it to a friend who was interested, and I was listing the pros and cons...only there really aren't any cons. I need to order some rain gear! |
4.5 out of 5.0!
60 degF, light wind and traffic, bike mechs hummed, smell the spring! wind KICKED-UP, in my direction on return. 65degF, traffic flowed. average 16.1mph, 20.8 miles total! smiled multiple times :-) , hoped the car drivers were as exited....! |
Nice boring commute home. Interval day so I spent part of the ride trying to kill myself in one minute spurts.
My wheels are here. Now I just need my last delivery from lickbike and I should have most of my parts for the new commuter. |
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