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How was the commute today?

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Old 11-06-07 | 07:14 AM
  #21826  
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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.

Wet and cold, maybe 35 degrees F. I must get some rain pants, my work pants are soaked.
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Old 11-06-07 | 07:26 AM
  #21827  
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From: Rochester, NY

Bikes: Trek 1200C, Specialized Rockhopper, Giant Yukon FX, Giant Acapulco

Not bad 35 and clear, just freaking hate this lingering headcold/sinus infection - my head feels like it's going to explode. And I brought my heavy rain gear today as it's supposed to get windy and rain/wet snow on me on the way home. Here it comes ...
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Old 11-06-07 | 08:34 AM
  #21828  
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From: Land of the Lobster

Bikes: Marin Larkspur 1998

Wet! Left early to try and make it in while it was still a drizzle, but only made it halfway before the skies opened up. At least it was a surprisingly warm 50 degrees!

It's pouring now, but I am hoping it slows up a bit for the ride home.
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Old 11-06-07 | 08:56 AM
  #21829  
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From: Champaign, IL
Very, very nice. Sunny and chilly at 29-31 for the ride. I love it!
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Old 11-06-07 | 09:06 AM
  #21830  
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From: In the 212

Bikes: Haro Vector, IRO Rob Roy, Bianchi Veloce

Sweaty. 50F and kinda sorta drizzling. Couldn't tell from my apt. so I dressed in the rain gear and got to work drenched in sweat. I should've skipped the rain pants and worn a light shell instead.
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Old 11-06-07 | 09:25 AM
  #21831  
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From: Durham, NC

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse 5c, Scattante XRL

Originally Posted by tarwheel
I'll probably run by the Performance store for their discount lunch Tuesday to see what sort of winter clothes they have in stock.
tarwheel, you probably already know this but just in case....Performance has a huge sale starting on the 8th (Thursday). You might get even better discounts, but I'm not sure (I haven't been over there for the discount lunch...sounds very tempting! Do they do that every day?).

My commute: I nearly ran into the back of a van.

For parts of my commute I take the lane. I was doing so this morning and stuck in a line of bumper-to-bumper (fender?) traffic in a spot that backs up nearly every morning. We took off, and I was pedalling nice and fast to keep up. Suddenly the van in front of me stopped. I locked up both wheels but the bike went into a skid. I managed to both keep her upright and steer to the left (couldn't get her right) of the van. By the time I stopped I was just behind the driver's window. Then traffic started moving again. The driver was so freaked-out to see a cyclist to his left that he just sat there, so I took off, threaded in front of him, and kept going.

Man, the adrenalin was pumping...
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Old 11-06-07 | 09:40 AM
  #21832  
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From: Bellingham, WA
I got chased by a deer this morning.
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Old 11-06-07 | 09:54 AM
  #21833  
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From: Cowtown, AB

Bikes: Titus El Guapo, Misfit diSSent, Cervelo Soloist Carbon, Wabi Lightning, et al.

It was about -5C when I left the house, but by the time I got downtown, it was about +2C. That's a pretty big swing for less than 10 minutes. Hopefully it's still warm when I head home today. Forecast says snow on Friday...
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Old 11-06-07 | 11:19 AM
  #21834  
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From: south Puget Sound
Nice and foggy. 42F
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Old 11-06-07 | 02:33 PM
  #21835  
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Honolulu, HI

Bikes: Electra Specialized Globe 3 speed (daily commuter), Specialized Rockhopper (2010), Rans V-rex recumbent

Haven't been able to ride for the last week due to a crash last tuesday and subsequent broken fork. Waiting the LBS to order a new fork from Electra. They seem to be draggin their feet on it. Can't find Electra Townie forks anywhere. Can't wait to get back on the bike, I'm missing all this beautiful fall weather!
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Old 11-06-07 | 03:19 PM
  #21836  
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From: Sacramento, California, USA

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

I can really feel the heat island effect on my morning ride. Lately I'll ride from my house in Curtis Park, through Midtown and Downtown to drop off my bag at my bike locker, then meet my buddy at the American River Bike Trail for a pre-work ride.

When I left the house the thermometer showed 48F. When I got to the parking structure, it felt considerably warmer (more asphalt, fewer trees). Then to the River, where there was a cold mist over the water and trail. It's weird and cool to pass through those micro climates.

Not something you'd notice riding in your car, that's for sure.
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Old 11-06-07 | 03:23 PM
  #21837  
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From: Toronto, ON, Canada

Bikes: 70s Leader Precision w/Shimano 600 (road), IRO Rob Roy (Fixed)

Windy, but a rare tailwind this morning, which felt marvellous. Ride by the lake and stopped for a few minutes to admire the chop on there... Very relaxing in an odd way.

Not looking forward to heading west tonight, though.
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Old 11-06-07 | 03:29 PM
  #21838  
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From: Sydney, Australia

Bikes: 80's peugeot. Somewhat knackered. Lovely new Salsa Casseroll singlespeed.

It's got wet again.

I thought summer was here, but now it's been raining for days. Still, at least it's not cold.

The ride home last night was very wet. I was riding in between two lanes of stationary traffic to get to the front of the queue, and a combination of the wet road and less efficient brakes (and, lets face it, poor judgement on my part going through a very small gap) meant I just touched someone's mirror with my bars as I went past (I was virually stopped at the time, so really did just touch it). Oooops. I turned around and said sorry, expecting to get tirade about cyclists, but the guy leaned out and smiled and siad 'no worries, you're alright'. Very pleasant cager.

This morning was still raining very hard when I left, but the sun came out about half way and it warmed up considerably.

However, I have discovered that my cycling computer is not waterproof. The screen has all fogged up on the inside, and it's stopped working...
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Old 11-06-07 | 03:40 PM
  #21839  
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From: south Puget Sound
Originally Posted by caloso
I can really feel the heat island effect on my morning ride. Lately I'll ride from my house in Curtis Park, through Midtown and Downtown to drop off my bag at my bike locker, then meet my buddy at the American River Bike Trail for a pre-work ride.

When I left the house the thermometer showed 48F. When I got to the parking structure, it felt considerably warmer (more asphalt, fewer trees). Then to the River, where there was a cold mist over the water and trail. It's weird and cool to pass through those micro climates.

Not something you'd notice riding in your car, that's for sure.
I have lots of those little microclimates too, changes in temp and humidity w/ elevation and landscape... cool stuff.
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Old 11-06-07 | 05:20 PM
  #21840  
dbs
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From: Northern Colorado

Bikes: 1976 Viscount

25F when I left at 6:00AM. Aside from a cold right thumb it was great.
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Old 11-06-07 | 09:10 PM
  #21841  
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Yes 22F at 5:15 and loved it even tho I lost my nose pc to my glasses. 10 hour days at work means dark in and getting dark fast home. Pike Peak at 14,110 elevation takes that precious sun away early.
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Old 11-06-07 | 10:06 PM
  #21842  
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From: Becket, MA
rain. lots of rain. not much of a big deal that I rode in today but the big event today was that my wife rode in today! she's so hooked on her bike commute.
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Old 11-07-07 | 12:41 AM
  #21843  
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Weather was clear and beautiful. We need rain but I will enjoy the clear weather while it is here. The motorists were especially polite today. No sarcasm, they really were. Pleasant ride.
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Old 11-07-07 | 12:48 AM
  #21844  
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Originally Posted by caloso
I can really feel the heat island effect on my morning ride. Lately I'll ride from my house in Curtis Park, through Midtown and Downtown to drop off my bag at my bike locker, then meet my buddy at the American River Bike Trail for a pre-work ride.

When I left the house the thermometer showed 48F. When I got to the parking structure, it felt considerably warmer (more asphalt, fewer trees). Then to the River, where there was a cold mist over the water and trail. It's weird and cool to pass through those micro climates.

Not something you'd notice riding in your car, that's for sure.
Hey! A fellow Sacramento commuter! Well, I'm more of a Citrus Heights and surrounding area rider. Yes, the weather has been very comfy in the morning. I left wearing sweat pants, a light long sleeve shirt, and a light shell. I sweated through it in about 2 miles. The shell went into the pannier and I was comfortable after that.

Lived in Citrus Heights/Sacto area my whole life and I have yet to ride on the American River Bike Trail. A while back, all I heard about was muggers and ******* hanging out there. Probably just the usual media exaggeration.

BTW, I noticed my ride was much warmer this week, which I think is due to the time change. I am riding an hour later than before, even though it's at the same time.
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Old 11-07-07 | 12:50 AM
  #21845  
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From: Vancouver BC

Bikes: lemond poprad 2006, old tomassa road bike

Coldish on the way to work, rain on the way home...but felt great to ride!
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Old 11-07-07 | 07:03 AM
  #21846  
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From: Raleigh, NC

Bikes: Waterford RST-22, Bob Jackson World Tour, Ritchey Breakaway Cross, Soma Saga, De Bernardi SL, Specialized Sequoia

Originally Posted by Itsjustb
tarwheel, you probably already know this but just in case....Performance has a huge sale starting on the 8th (Thursday). You might get even better discounts, but I'm not sure (I haven't been over there for the discount lunch...sounds very tempting! Do they do that every day?)....
I did the right thing and placed my order over the phone, so I didn't drive over to Performance even though I had my truck yesterday. I drove because my truck needed a new battery, and that took up much of my lunch hour. BTW, Performance has 10% off everything in the store every Tuesday between noon and 2 p.m. They've been doing that for a while, but you have to buy in an actual store -- not online or over the phone.

I'll probably drop by the Cary store for their "huge" sale this weekend if I am on that side of town. One thing about Performance, if you miss a sale, don't worry because they'll have another one in a few days. I needed a new wheelset, and was actually able to buy it cheaper on-line because their Ultegra/Open Pros were on sale and they had a 10% off coupon for web orders. Plus, I am having the wheels delivered to the Cary store, so there will be no shipping charges. Sweet.

Oh yeah ... today's commute. Coldest of the year so far and our first freeze in Raleigh. My gear did great and I was "warm" as I wanted to be -- any warmer and I would have been sweating, which I don't want.
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Old 11-07-07 | 07:42 AM
  #21847  
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Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Bristol, CT

Bikes: 60's SpaceLiner, 60's Ross Futura, 60's Sears spyder, 70's Zebrakenko, 98 Ross Chimera Hybrid, 90's Schwinn Frontier, and ThunderHorse, my trusty mountain steed, also my gf's 64 Schwinn ladies cruiser and her purple lowrider are at my disposal.

the first real cold, wet, snowy, dark morning commute for me. So happy that I got my planetbike superflash blinkie in the mail yesterday. I felt visible, and didn't get any harrassment. The cold and wet were getting to me but as I was getting to the breaking point I was rolling up to the front door of my office building. As I was bringing my bike up the elevator to my floor, a nice older woman from a different floor commented that she admired anyone who could ride in this weather. I just smiled and said, "I'm not going to stop riding for some silly weather."
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Old 11-07-07 | 07:47 AM
  #21848  
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From: Rochester, NY

Bikes: Trek 1200C, Specialized Rockhopper, Giant Yukon FX, Giant Acapulco

Not a bad commute - 35F and not raining on me - just had a nice headwind though - has up to 30 mph gusts - getting a little tired of the cold wet stuff for the commute home. Headcold is just sapping my strength though. Still haven't broken out the winter jacket yet - just added long sleeve jersey over the wick and using my wind/rain resis. jacket - seems to be working out fine. Did bring the rainpants/booties though for the ride home...
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Old 11-07-07 | 09:13 AM
  #21849  
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From: Cowtown, AB

Bikes: Titus El Guapo, Misfit diSSent, Cervelo Soloist Carbon, Wabi Lightning, et al.

Warmer than yesterday, that's for sure. I had somebody rev their engine behind me at a light, which was funny, because there were three cyclists waiting in that lane. If a car was sitting in front of them, they wouldn't rev...
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Old 11-07-07 | 10:22 AM
  #21850  
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From: Antioch, IL

Bikes: Giant Defy Advanced 0, Rivendell- Sam Hillborne, Montague folding bike.

Cold today, low 30's, but no wind. First ride this week. Mounted my DIY headlights over the weekend, which adds a bit a weight, so I'm ready for tonights commute.

Last Fri. was passed at a light by another commuter. I think it's only the second cyclist I've seen on the road part of my ride this year.
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