Bike Forums

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)
-   Commuting (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/)
-   -   2012 - How Was the Commute Today? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/790056-2012-how-commute-today.html)

dcb23 02-13-12 07:14 PM

Almost run over by a cab running a red..ugh. Caught up at a light and checked out the driver, a very scared looking little old lady. I told her to keep those eyes open.

Otherwise a nice later-than-usual ride home in the mid-forties.

sirtirithon 02-13-12 08:40 PM

Fantastic ride into work. 30 degrees and fog. Very peaceful! Not pleasant on the ride home though. 40 degrees and a down pour! Heres a shot of my new love right before the rain storm!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h6...1329176942.jpg

FanaticMN 02-13-12 09:30 PM

Magical ride home in a light to moderate snow storm. The temperature was about freezing with only light winds. A half inch of already fallen snow silenced the studs. The greenways and bike paths were nearly empty; I only passed eight other commuters on the nine mile route. I waved to all the stopped traffic as I went over the overpasses, and enjoyed the moment.

Chalupa102 02-13-12 10:06 PM

Great commutes today even thought there were pretty much headwinds both ways.

42F and sunny this afternoon on the commute in with mainly headwinds from the WSW @ 15-18mph gusting to 24mph. The winds definitely made it a challenging and slow ride in. Even with fighting them, I was still faster than the speeds I used to get on a calm day before before I made my coroplast velomobile. Actually saw a few other cyclists out, but they were all going the opposite way.

28F and dark this evening on the ride home with mainly crosswinds and some headwinds from the SSE @ 3-6mph. I have come to love the evening commute home. There's less traffic and it's pretty peaceful. My headlight started showing the "dead battery" warning in the beginning of the ride. I thought for sure I would have had to stop and change the batteries, but I made it all the way home without having to.

Mark Stone 02-13-12 10:10 PM


Originally Posted by making (Post 13845459)
I wore an entire load of laundry to work today because it was 17 degrees.

:lol::lol::lol::D

shabbis 02-13-12 10:26 PM

First day back on my commuter, was riding my old six13 while the commuter was over at Ruckus getting carbon fiber fender eyelets and custom carbon fiber fenders installed. It was wet this morning but my feet stayed dry and most of the bike clean, full fender coverage for the win! I'll get around to posting pictures at some point.

dcb23 02-14-12 06:28 AM

Very nice ride in today, no wind at all, 40 degrees.

sirtirithon 02-14-12 08:18 AM

Had a quiet ride into work this morning. 8 mph side wind and 20 degrees, but I was comfortable with thermal pants, cargo shorts over top and a sweatshirt. The forecast is calling for rain again this afternoon so it will be a rough commute home again, like yesterday.

walnutz 02-14-12 08:30 AM

First commute on the fixie since knee surgery in November. Brisk morning in ATX.

icyj 02-14-12 09:01 AM

12 deg F and no wind. Nice to be using the lights for making myself visible rather than making the road visible. The days are getting noticeably longer each morning.

gecho 02-14-12 09:52 AM

-11C and clear this morning, I took the MUP to enjoy the dark. I've been using the mountain bike almost every commute this winter. Since I only have class two days a week I figure I might as well use the bike that requires more effort to pedal.

It was disconcerting seeing the number of cars driving around where the drivers hadn't bothered to scrap the ice off their windows.

HardyWeinberg 02-14-12 09:53 AM

39F, sprinkly

JPinWI 02-14-12 10:09 AM

Finally pulled the trigger on a Winter commute...I haven't ridden since December 9th, 2011! I spent part of my off Monday transferring commuter stuff onto my Trek 820....It was a good long ride, in about 2 inches of fresh snow. 1 and 1/2 hours of pedaling bliss. Only 1 wipeout when I misjudged the edge of pavement on a rural road...That cost me my bar end mirror. :( Overall, it was a success and I now have no excuse to NOT ride my bike to work. :lol: By the way, last Fall I picked up some Neos overshoes in our work safety program and they worked great keeping my feet warm and dry. I wore my Shimano MT41 bike shoes inside the Neos. Highly Recommended! :thumb: Enjoy!

Jim from Boston 02-14-12 10:51 AM

Started out as a typical commute, 30° for my 14 miles. I listen to a local talk radio show, Tom and Todd, and the topic was predicted rising gas prices to $4.00. A caller described the progressive effects at $4.00. 4.50 and $5.00. The discussion also veered into rising fares on the Mass Transit system (the MBTA). I couldn't resist describing my alternative lifestyle that might be acceptable at $5.00 per gallon. So at 6 miles into the ride, with the risk of chilling off, I stopped to call in. I got on-air in about one minute. I've called the show before, when the weather is atrocious to tweak them that I am cycling, so they know me.

I had about 30 seconds to describe my reverse-commute bike ride to work, and the train ride home with my bike. Now my residence and workplace are well situated to allow this commute, and I inadvertently described it as "idyllic," but probably should have said conducive. But compared to many commutes I read about on this Forum, it is ideal.

After I got off the air, due to the 20 second delay, I got to hear their on-air comments. Todd was skeptical that going out on a ten-degree day was idyllic, but Tom, a former Marathoner, could relate, mentioning fresh air and exercise. When I got to work, someone had heard the show, and this morning I’ve been getting the business about my idyllic commute. :rolleyes:

CommuteCommando 02-14-12 11:08 AM

Great story Tom from Boston. I am fortunate that for me, 40F is "cold", and pretty much the rule early in the AM this time of year. I rode today despite it raining when I left the house. Dry pavement and clear sky by the time I got off the train at 6AM. Rode a longer commute this morning to avoid some major construction on my regular route that looks likely to last for weeks. (Burying storm drains)

Mark Stone 02-14-12 02:37 PM

Still sick at home, still no commute this week . . .

Froghunter 02-14-12 03:11 PM

Snow, Windy, and Winter Storm last Saturday and Sunday. Today warm high of 53 degrees and sunny....Windys from the SW 7 mph. Maded me want to contiune to ride the Freddie bike the 10 mile loop, but have school tonight........Maybe tomorrow.

Enjoy Life!

Froghunter

cehowardGS 02-14-12 06:30 PM

About 35 degrees at 6am, pretty dark, ride was sweet.. I am getting faster!! ;)

andboy 02-14-12 10:59 PM

It was awesome! I fitted fenders the other day. I felt stoopid doing it, I'm pleased I did it now! When I set out it had just finished raining and the roads were wet, the second half of the journey on the MUPpet path was still coated in mud from when it flooded a while back.

I had mud all over the wheels and fenders. It was so thick in places it was slick, i had to slow down a bit!

This afternoon had warmed up to the mid 60's so I got to ditch my jacket and arm warmers and was able to show off my new jersey I picked up at a swap meet this weekend.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5992907/4092...90490855_n.jpg

I had one guy on the way home who was really pleased to see me. He kept honking and honking. Thing was he wasn't even behind me! He was in the other lane. I don't think his driving skills were that great either as he jerked into my lane while continuing to honk. I waved and smiled and took a note of his plate. I fill in the online complaint forms for the cops.

dcb23 02-15-12 06:51 AM


Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 13850463)
After I got off the air, due to the 20 second delay, I got to hear their on-air comments. Todd was skeptical that going out on a ten-degree day was idyllic, but Tom, a former Marathoner, could relate, mentioning fresh air and exercise. When I got to work, someone had heard the show, and this morning I’ve been getting the business about my idyllic commute. :rolleyes:

Brilliant! I listen to the traffic reports every morning with amazement that folks can deal with it.

Head wind but not cold at all coming in.

tarwheel 02-15-12 07:29 AM

I had an idyllic commute myself this morning. Perfect weather with temps in the 40s and very little wind, and the high is supposed to reach 60 this afternoon. The only downside was the curse of my commuting -- red lights. They were out to get me this morning and were especially cruel, the longest ones turning red just before I reached them.

wphamilton 02-15-12 08:18 AM

1 Attachment(s)
This was my first commute with my new bike, which is also my first attempt at building one. It was an excellent ride but slower than I'm used to, partly because I've only ridden about 10 miles since Friday. I enjoyed going up a couple of inclines (you couldn't call them hills) pedaling a 20 lb bike instead of the usual 40+ pounds.

Without my fairing I put on several layers expecting a cold ride but it warmed up to the upper 30's and it was all unnecessary.

CptjohnC 02-15-12 08:56 AM

A really nice ride today; low 40s starting out, and I didn't pick up much wind until I hit the Memorial Bridge. Thin tights, thin gloves, just a base layer under my Showers Pass jacket, and no beanie under the helmet was just right, I think. Passed a number of folks with balaclavas and masks, which seemed like a lot to me... as did the folks wearing full weight winter coats.

However, one fellow commuter set me straight; she doesn't wear the mask for the cold, but to protect her skin from the wind :-)

Weird sighting of the day: A guy commuting on a Segway on the Custis Trail. At first I thought it might be a cop or parking enforcement type, or some other municipal official, but it had no markings, he was not wearing a uniform or visible ID, and he was acting like any other commuter, rather than like someone doing a survey or other 'business' on the trail. I dropped him like a rock once I had room to pass.

wisaunders 02-15-12 09:17 AM

Perfect, finally no rain, 55F. Looks like the wind is going to turn around too so two rides with a good tail wind today!

HardyWeinberg 02-15-12 10:35 AM

35F and clammy

cehowardGS 02-15-12 10:40 AM

About 38 to 40 degrees at 6am.. Felt like summertime.. Also, I pulled out my 85 Raleigh Prestige, it always draws attention and the ride is sweet.

BTW, 90% of the time I in the full tuck like a racer. ;).

No, I don't have a full deck!! :D

njschmidt 02-15-12 10:54 AM

In the 40s*F, no rain and no wind to speak of. Overcast, though, and they say it's going to start pouring this afternoon (good chance for me to try out my new rain cape). Only complaint was with my SKS race blades that I fitted on this morning because of the later rain prediction... Easy to put them on, but sure does seem to take a lot of tweaking before they don't touch the front tire.

EKW in DC 02-15-12 10:55 AM

The first mile and a half or so of my morning commute route is on city streets. This morning I took the route with sharrows on it instead of the one with the bike lane. No one did anything unsafe or threatening, but I felt like everyone was giving me a foot or two less clearance when passing, and people were following more closely than usual. Just one of those days I guess. Like I said no one did anything dangerous our threatening, so maybe it was just my perception. Oh well, no harm, no foul right?

Otherwise a great ride in except for the wind in my face, which I wish had been blowing a little less. Temps comfortable, brilliant sunshine, fair number of fellow commuters.

Leaving work early to go to a prenatal checkup with my wife. Looking forward to a nice midday ride home with a nice tailwind! :-)

dygituljunky 02-15-12 05:08 PM

I took the long weekend off of the bike due to the cold weather and gusty wind. With the HUA drivers around here, I didn't want to risk being blown into the flow of motor-vehicle traffic.

Today the weather was t-shirt and shorts weather on the way in. Very nice ride.

Chalupa102 02-15-12 09:34 PM

Excellent commutes today.

46F and sunny this afternoon on the commute in with mainly headwinds from the WNW @ 2-5mph. 34F and dark with winds from the WNW @ 6-9mph on the commute home this evening. The evening rides home are never dull. I normally have multiple people taking my picture while I'm stopped at a light. I'm sure one of these days I'll see my pic on a website somewhere. Some guy in a pretty nice car asked me if my velo was electric at one of the lights as he was taking my pic. He seemed pretty surprised when I told him that it was just pedal powered.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:16 PM.


Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.