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2014!! How was your commute today?

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2014!! How was your commute today?

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Old 09-08-14 | 08:17 AM
  #2476  
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From: Ottawa, Canada

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Used to bike to work 2 days per week. Now I can bike every day.
11°C (52°F) this morning. Nice that I'm not soaking wet thanks to the cool weather.
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Old 09-08-14 | 08:50 AM
  #2477  
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thank goodness for friends

Coworker offered a ride home Friday which turned out to be a great deal as we loaded my bike in the back of his Xterra, lightening flashed and thunder immediately followed. I heard that the storm was supposed to drop 1-2 inches of rain. It probably did flash flooding and a mess on the roads. I appreciated his offer and we (my wife and I) offered dinner as a thank you.

50-60% storms today raining as I drove to work. I used today as a reload day and brought clothes/ breakfast for the rest of the week. I was going to go to the gym this morning but i slept horribly and just reset the alarm for later.

i feel like a bum...
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Old 09-08-14 | 10:48 AM
  #2478  
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From: Folsom CA

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Got a single PR today, on the steep bit from w/b ARBT up to n/b Hazel bridge. Often my bum ticker makes me get off and walk here, but today I was able to stand up and mash right through it. I can't believe in the PR too hard because the combinations of bike lanes and underpasses on the Hazel bridge gives Strava the fits. Still, it makes some sense. On this Super Sport, I can rely on it not to pop out of gear (unlike my Paramount), but can't downshift (unlike my MTB). So on this one, on a good day, I can stand up and mash hard.

I was feeling pretty good and thought I might a better time in more places, but my level of fitness still doesn't match spring of last year.
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:02 AM
  #2479  
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From: Nanaimo, BC

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Great job [MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION]


I had a commute. Not great, not bad. Just got where I needed to go.

My son was pretty excited about my new mirror though and pointed out anyone who had one also.

I got a bit of funds for my cycling habit for my birthday. I am glad it is something that friends and family support. I need new shoes and tights. I also wanted to look into a cycle computer.

Anyone use Sigma ROX 6.0 Cad? I am looking for something not too (read: super) expensive ($100-150ish) with cadence, HR, speed and preferably wireless with two bike compatibility. I like the idea of a timer for intervals, so either a stopwatch or countdown timer with repeats. I also want something I can download the data to a computer.
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:04 AM
  #2480  
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From: Brodhead, WI - south of Madison

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Originally Posted by dramiscram
Nice sunny morning, a cool 9° celcius when I left home and 16°c celcius when I got to work. It's hard to dress properly, I'm either cold when I leave home or sweating like hell when I get to work.
Originally Posted by arsprod
Beautiful morning, started at 48F and was 56F by the time I got to my office - seriously overdressed. It's embarrassing that with years of data about what to wear at various temps I go on hunches rather than empirical knowledge
It's simply not easy to dress "correctly." Today, for instance, I had a long-sleeve base layer under my tech t-shirt. I felt a little warm, but also knew that if I hadn't worn the sleeves I'd feel a little chilled. The "in between" temps are hard to dial in, and factor in the humidity and the wind. And then for me, I'm pretty close to Lake Michigan in a few spots and it's the time of year when it keeps things warmer than in certain spots. It can be frustrating. Tonight I'll skip the long sleeve and just wear the t-shirt.
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:10 AM
  #2481  
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Wettest commute ever. 5"+ of rain since 3am. Massive flooding everywhere. I had to carry my bike over a thick mudslide (with a truck stuck in it) and drove past many cars stranded in deep water. Could not have made the commute in car.

Massive Valley flooding strands motorists, closes schools
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:37 AM
  #2482  
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Originally Posted by ill.clyde
It's simply not easy to dress "correctly." Today, for instance, I had a long-sleeve base layer under my tech t-shirt. I felt a little warm, but also knew that if I hadn't worn the sleeves I'd feel a little chilled. The "in between" temps are hard to dial in, and factor in the humidity and the wind. And then for me, I'm pretty close to Lake Michigan in a few spots and it's the time of year when it keeps things warmer than in certain spots. It can be frustrating. Tonight I'll skip the long sleeve and just wear the t-shirt.
Agreed. It's the time of year for chilly mornings and comfortable evenings. I stick with my t-shirt and shorts for as long as I can take it. Usually this means while it's above 50F in the morning.
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:48 AM
  #2483  
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From: Brodhead, WI - south of Madison

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Originally Posted by spivonious
Agreed. It's the time of year for chilly mornings and comfortable evenings. I stick with my t-shirt and shorts for as long as I can take it. Usually this means while it's above 50F in the morning.
Since losing almost 30 pounds, I've found it's much easier for me to get chilled on cool/cold rides. I'll do the long sleeve layer when it's around 60. And typically reach for the leg/knee warmers when it's cooler than that.
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:48 AM
  #2484  
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From: Chicagoland

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This morning's weather was great! Almost perfect for shorts and a short sleeved shirt with a faint breeze.
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:59 AM
  #2485  
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From: Nanaimo, BC

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I think that I spun my wheel at a start this morning. I peeled out, broke loose.

I was coming from a stop and I started then I pumped hard and something slipped. It was not chain or crank related. So I thought maybe I just spun my rear wheel. I was pushing really hard, I may even have been standing. I had my son on the rear, so 40+ pounds of kid and seat. It is pretty awesome.

I was on the left or just to the left of the left tire track, so maybe some oil helped. The road was dry. Unless I turned my cassette without the free hub body turning
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Old 09-08-14 | 11:59 AM
  #2486  
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From: Upstate NY

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Couldn't have asked for a better commute in this morning. The sun was starting to come out, the birds were chirping...and I actually saw another bike commuter out on the state road. He was riding on the wrong side of the road, but going my direction, I waved him over and explained to him that he's supposed to be riding with the flow of traffic (even when there isn't any). He just said he prefers to see the car that's about to hit him. Climbing the one hill on my commute, I dropped down a cog in the back, and spun up the hill at 14mph while he was still in his highest gear (large ring in front and smallest cog in back) mashing up at ~6mph I yelled to him to drop down into the middle ring. He smiled and said "oh that's much easier" and told me he hasn't been on a bike for 15 years and is only riding because he had to drop his car off at the shop for his annual state inspection. He was burned out by the time we crested the hill so I pulled away and dropped him fast on the descent. As a way of congratulating him for trying, I offered him a free cup of coffee when he made it into town, which he gladly accepted. He told me he's seen me on the road before and thought it looked easy enough, so he just went for it. I said, once you get the hang of it it becomes natural.
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Old 09-08-14 | 05:23 PM
  #2487  
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From: Sudbury, ON, CA

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Originally Posted by noisebeam
Wettest commute ever. 5"+ of rain since 3am. Massive flooding everywhere. I had to carry my bike over a thick mudslide (with a truck stuck in it) and drove past many cars stranded in deep water. Could not have made the commute in car.

Massive Valley flooding strands motorists, closes schools
I wonder if this water will make its way towards California and ease the drought.
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Old 09-08-14 | 05:43 PM
  #2488  
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Originally Posted by jrickards
I wonder if this water will make its way towards California and ease the drought.
I heard the same system is dumping water in S.Cal. But these intense bursts of rain don't really help, that is just run off that quickly goes to the rivers. What is needed are sustained rains that can soak in and snowpack in the mountains.

This record is for the Phx airport, some cities in metro-Phx got between 5-6" of rain. That is a lot in 8hrs for a place that gets 7-9" yearly.
My commute home was less exiting as the rain and heaviest flooding had stopped, but I still had to drive thru 18" of water using the left most side of left most lane of a 3 laned (one way) road that was closed to motor vehicles for two 1 miles stretches. Over the axles in places, slowly and ready to fall from a hidden glob of mud.
...Record daily maximum rainfall set at Phoenix AZ...
a record rainfall of 3.29 inch(es) was set at Phoenix Sky Harbor AZ today. This breaks the old record of 1.33 set in 1933.
This rainfall record sets an all-time calendar day rainfall record previously set on September 4 1939 of 2.91 inch(es).

Last edited by noisebeam; 09-08-14 at 05:47 PM.
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Old 09-08-14 | 06:30 PM
  #2489  
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From: NYC

Bikes: Schwinn World Sport Jamis Ventura

Class is back in full swing! So yay more commuting for me!
By the way I've decided two things today.

1. Allowing tourists to rent bikes in NYC is a really bad freaking idea.
2. My number #1 non-dangerous motorist pet peeve is people who honk at me for no reason other than they can.

I hope CA gets some of that flood water! They could use it!
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Old 09-08-14 | 09:18 PM
  #2490  
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Nice day! Long sleeve going in, short coming back. 30 mi RT. Boy it is getting dark early now here! Soon will need to pull out the headlight for the home commute.
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Old 09-08-14 | 09:25 PM
  #2491  
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Still summer here, no jackets/long sleeves needed. Kind of looking forward to October, my favourite commuting month.
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Old 09-08-14 | 10:51 PM
  #2492  
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Originally Posted by noisebeam
Wettest commute ever. 5"+ of rain since 3am. Massive flooding everywhere. I had to carry my bike over a thick mudslide (with a truck stuck in it) and drove past many cars stranded in deep water. Could not have made the commute in car.

Massive Valley flooding strands motorists, closes schools
I'm down in Prescott. Definitely thought we were going to get hit pretty hard today but we really didn't get much. Didn't run into any bad weather on my commute to and from work.
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Old 09-09-14 | 05:00 AM
  #2493  
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69F / 21C, light clouds, dark, light breeze...Fall commuting begins.

That's some intense whether out there for some of you!
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Old 09-09-14 | 05:08 AM
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From: Merrimac , MA
I saw a fox on my ride home yesterday, he ran back into the woods instead of crossing the street which seemed his original plan until I came along.

This morning the weather was a cool 53f degrees when leaving the house, with a full moon still up in the sky. It was a nice commute to work today.
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Old 09-09-14 | 06:11 AM
  #2495  
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From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

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This morning's ride felt like I was going through a misting machine the whole way. At 65F it felt pretty nice actually.

And twice now I have found a port-a-potty at a construction site to come in handy on my ride. I could have made it to work, but was definitely more comfortable after a quick stop.
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Old 09-09-14 | 06:51 AM
  #2496  
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Great morning #2 - mid 50's and got the clothes right!
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Old 09-09-14 | 06:54 AM
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Great day for a commute. Mid 60's when I left the house. I'm realizing I may need to get fenders for my bike soon. Not really for the rain, more for the gunk (trash water, tossed out food/drinks, oil slicks & vomit) I have to dodge and ride through some mornings.
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Old 09-09-14 | 07:08 AM
  #2498  
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Warmer than yesterday, very sunny.

They've got 10cm of snow yesterday in Calgary, just sayin...
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Old 09-09-14 | 07:09 AM
  #2499  
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Originally Posted by jrickards
I wonder if this water will make its way towards California and ease the drought.
I wonder that myself. I think most of it will end up in the Salt, Gila rivers and head SW towards the Colorado river. There is a big usually dry reservoir called Painted Rock Reservoir that will probably catch whatever gets that far. I doubt much of the water even makes it to the Colorado river.
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Old 09-09-14 | 07:16 AM
  #2500  
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From: Brodhead, WI - south of Madison

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Another unremarkable commute.

I too got the clothes right today. Rather than a long sleeve and a t-shirt I just went with the long sleeve and packed the t-shirt for the ride home tonight

Won't be able to commute tomorrow, and Thursday's supposed to be colder and possibly wetter, so we'll see what happens.
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