dramiscram

Last night the traffic was closed on my side of the Yamaska for repavement so I now have only 8 kms of ****ty/bumpy, potholes road on my 27.4 kms one way commute.

Nice commute this morning on my newly paved road

PatrickGSR94

Tail wind? Winds can make a huge difference on my commute time, as in, 60-62 minutes with a tail wind vs. 71+ minutes with a head wind.

But then I only have 2 traffic lights in 15 miles that I go through, and usually only stop (with foot down) a couple other times besides those.

ill.clyde

yeah... looking at the weather there is/was a slight 6mph tailwind ... felt like a headwind on the MUP though, and that's pretty sheltered so I never expect too much "help" from a tailwind there. oh well ... I'll take it

Squeeze

My commute wasn't fun because I did it in my Honda. The Raleigh I bought on craigslist lasted three commutes before breaking down. LBS can't get me in until Saturday.

Funny that I commuted for decades by car but in about six weeks I've become a total bike nerd and try to see how many days I can go without starting my car.

ill.clyde

What happened to the Raleigh?

droy45

Took my time this morning as my knees are feeling it after the last couple days. Still trying to get used to the 30 mile round trip but the heat is getting to me. I altered my route into the city last night to make it shorter but it was not a good idea. Way too much traffic and the lights are insane. Stop and go constantly, forget it. I will continue through the residential areas and make my way to the highway as usual.

groovestew

Rode the new fixie again, twas good. My Bianchi is starting to feel lonely, though. Cool start at 9C/48F, but nice otherwise.

My bike has been making a faint but annoying ticking sound that seems to get louder as I go faster, and happens once per wheel revolution. I checked the tires for something embedded but found nothing (and there's no tread for rocks to get picked up in anyway). I noticed that the Presta valve stem is a bit loose in the rim hole, and not only is there no nut on the stem to tighten it to the rim, it's not even threaded so it can't take a nut. My theory is that the airflow around the forks is hitting the valve stem and the ticking is the sound of the valve stem hitting the edge of the rim hole. Does that even seem feasible? I'll test my theory by replacing the tube with one with a threaded valve stem and put a nut on it.

Squeeze

The left pedal suddenly seemed bent and wobbly while I was riding to work yesterday. I work within walking distance of a a bike shop and took it in yesterday morning. I could pretty much see the damage and they confirmed the threads in the crank were stripped out. They ordered a new crank for me and will install it on Saturday morning.

I have a friend at work who I talk bikes with. He's mostly a roadie but, like me, bought a '90s rigid MTB for around-town errands and so forth. He said he had the same problem with a Bianchi from craigslist.

Oh well...it could have been much worse, I suppose.

nudave2005

Oh, I forgot. Yesterday I had my first commute crisis. Plastic bags are evil. I saw it and figured its a stupid plastic bag and didn't bother and rolled right over it. Next thing I know I'm pedaling but coasting. I look down and its the plastic bag wrapped around my rear gears! It must've caught the front tire, spit up into the front gear, rode the chain to the back back gear and wrapped itself up. My chain was off and rode the slippery plastic down. Immediately pulled off to the sidewalk. I looked around and found myself in front of a barber shop in which a bomb was thrown into the previous night! Figures. I rip the bag out and push the pulley up to get some slack in the chain and put it back on. Took all of a minute at most. Jumped back on and booked out of there.

arsprod 

Do yourself a big favor and learn some basic bike mechanics (REI and Performance have free classes). This is about an hour's job with the right tools (which are relatively inexpensive) and you'd be able to maintain bike nerdishness, i.e. the addiction that is bike commuting!

tarwheel 

A huge thunderstorm blew up right about the time I usually leave work in the afternoon yesterday. From checking the radar, the storm didn't look like it would be ending anytime soon. Fortunately my wife was working at a conference near my office yesterday, so she gave me and bike a ride home. That was all fine and dandy, but it definitely threw me off my routine. I forgot to grab my cycling shoes when I left work, and also went home wearing my shoes, slacks, belt and other clothes I normally leave at work. So I swapped my seat bag for a larger model, packed some shoes and clothes for work and was all ready to leave this morning when I realized that I didn't have my cycling shoes. I had almost resigned myself into driving to work until I remembered that I had a second pair of SPD shoes that I rarely ever wear, so I slapped them on headed to work. Hopefully we won't have more storms this afternoon, but there is a good chance of it. Until the weather pattern changes, there is a good chance of thunderstorms every day. It's been a crazy summer weatherwise -- much cooler than normal but way more humid, with rainfall totals well above normal.

wphamilton

This is a beautiful morning, clear skies and cool. Hardly anyone was walking the Greenway as it is still closed due to the mud still lingering in low lying areas. "Closed" to me means "open road"! I wanted to keep going - it was a shame to stop for work.

baron von trail 

Nice clear warm morning, light wind and hardly any traffic made for a pleasant commute. I love summer.

dramiscram

Nice tailwind, there was a big thunderstorm at approx. 5-10 kms to the west, the sky was very dark and I could see the lightnings from where I was but I was riding Under a very nice sunny sky.

Surrealdeal

I had a rough ride home last night - I didn't bonk but the low fuel light was definitely on. I'm trying to lose weight and have been keeping my calorie/carb intake down and the deficit caught up with me. I had planned to ride today but slept in and drove instead.

Squeeze

Thanks. I didn't know about the classes. I live and work near a Performance Bike and an REI. I'll check their schedules.

I did buy a book about bike maintenance but classes would be good too. I'm pretty handy but don't have much bike-specific wrenching experience (yet).

arsprod 

If you're at all mechanically inclined you'll be fine. Get some basic bike tools and an Amazon Prime account - you'll be all set!!

spivonious

Don't sweat it! Sometimes your body needs a break and it will let you know.


My ride in this morning was pleasant, but oh so humid. I'm definitely ready for Fall.

Squeeze

Yes, I do okay with tools, usually. One of my hobbies - and I know a lot of guys do this with bikes - is flipping electric guitars. I look for deals at garage sales, thift shops, etc. and sell them on craigslist.

I can take an electric guitar down to the last tiny part and put it all back together again and set it up properly, including all the wiring "under the hood". Guitar tolerances are much more fussy than most bike adjustments I can think of.

I've really enjoyed some of the threads here (such as in Classic & Vintage) where guys show build-ups from frames, restorations, and conversions (like drop-bar MTBs). I do that with guitars, like buying necks and bodies separately, and I imagine by next summer I'll want to try it with a bike.

RidingMatthew

wasted a week with commitments in another city 3 out of 5 weeks this week so no riding because I drove so I could mow 2 inches of grass of the yard. So much rain I can barely stay on top of the mowing this year.

I hope fall is drier. North Carolina has had a ton of rain this summer. I still have doubled my bike commuting miles but now I am addicted except for weeks like this past.

enigmaT120

Nice riding yesterday. I got off work early so I rode a longer route home, getting in 27 miles for the day. It was my first day on my new Brooks B17, and I don't hate it. It's not quite as comfortable as my Selle SMT (...think that's right) but hopefully it will get even better. Today I took the motorcycle (Russell Daylong saddle, if anybody cares, on my BMW) and I'll do another 20 on the bicycle tomorrow.

My achilles tendon is still sore from when I scraped it on a pedal last Friday. The scrape is no bother, but I must have bruised it. It feels like tendonitis. It doesn't hurt when I ride though, just when I walk.

Allycat24

I had a nice commute this morning - certainly better than one of my predecessors on the Capital Crescent Trail. There was a very nice, full pannier sitting alongside the trail this morning. I hope the owner found it. I thought I was going really fast but arrived in the usual time. I try not to check my watch during my ride and wait until I get to work. Taking the long way home tonight, since it is so beautiful outside.

codyjhc

Saw this bike on my commute today. Had to stop and take a picture of the excellent locking technique...

PatrickGSR94

Had a little rain shower about an hour before I left the office, then the sun came back about. Then with about 1/3 the commute left it started raining again. And ONCE AGAIN I didn't have the fenders on the bike.

steedjerald

Oh ya had great commute today. Perfect weather. Little traffic and I ran over and killed a pigeon on my way thru Chinatown.