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-   -   2014!! How was your commute today? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/928265-2014-how-your-commute-today.html)

Archwhorides 12-09-14 09:50 AM

[MENTION=326414]Fishmonger[/MENTION], I haven't had a ride this ironic in a while.

Originally Posted by Fishmonger (Post 17365552)
I tried a new route to my school this morning (I'm a teacher) and got buzzed by a school bus. :rolleyes:


Archwhorides 12-09-14 09:56 AM

Steady drizzle this morning at 38F, turning to steady rain as soon as I got on to the Bikeway. The bad news is that I had on full rain gear, but the waterproofing membrane in the seat of my rain pants is shot, so I got pretty soaked in the crotchal area. The good news is that there were very few other bikers on the road, so I had lots of room to splash around.

Need to check on the new rain pants that I ordered a couple weeks ago.

DiabloScott 12-09-14 10:21 AM

Dropped off my truck at the dealer for service this morning at 7am and rode to work from there - about twice as far as my normal commute. It is really foggy so I had my lights on. Saw some homeless guys sleeping on a bench, and a really cool bird (maybe a crane) near the flood control canal.

spivonious 12-09-14 11:40 AM

Really wishing I had ridden today. They were calling for ice in the morning and heavy rain all day. It was drizzling when I came in and it's currently cloudy with no precipitation. :bang:

HydroG33r 12-09-14 11:41 AM


Originally Posted by tarwheel (Post 17374480)
I've been seeing a lot of clueless people driving in the dark without their headlights on. I don't get this at all. How hard is it to notice that your lights aren't on?

Totally agree. In most (all?) parts of Canada, vehicles are required to have daytime running lights; i.e. the headlights turn on as soon as you turn the car on. Unfortunately though, I think this sometimes makes it worse, as drivers can see their headlights in front of them, and often their dashboards light up too (I think that dashboard lighting should ONLY be on when your headlights are turned on... too dark to see your speedometer = dark enough to turn on your headlights).

joeyduck 12-09-14 12:04 PM

[MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION]. I thought you actually meant fishermen. Salmon fishing is big here and I ride along the river and there are always fishermen on the bank when the season is open.
[MENTION=68015]DiabloScott[/MENTION]. What color was it?

It was windy this morning. Ferries are canceled, the public dock on my in laws island came apart. My top speed was about 8km/h slower on the straight and I was weaving like I had too much mulled wine at the German Christmas Market last night.

Otherwise it was a nice ride. Other than the lady in the Merc SUV who changed across a few lanes to get from the leftmost to the rightmost. I gave her mirror a little love pat.

PatrickGSR94 12-09-14 01:11 PM

BRRRRR cold this morning at 31F on my bike computer display this morning. I was short a layer, I think I should have gone for 4 instead of the 3 layers I had on. Almost no wind this morning, but now it's up over 20 MPH out of the north. Forecast said it's supposed to die down to around 6 MPH when I leave the office. I hope so, otherwise the ride home is going to suck.

New Nashbar Mansfield bib tights (padded) came in today, excited to try them out. They're not very thick, though, so I'll probably have to use my other thin non-padded tights over them when it's in the 30's or below.

And it was quite nice having all my clothes here for every riding day this week, in a suitcase at work already. Lightened my load a noticeable amount and clothes weren't cold when I put them on after a shower. :thumb:

tarwheel 12-09-14 01:23 PM

Looks like our local weather forecasters are doing their usual terrible job of predicting rain. Yesterday they were saying the rain would stop overnight. This morning they were saying there might some lingering sprinkles through the morning. However, the latest radar shows a huge blob of yellow and red heading our way. Hopefully it will pass by the time I'm ready to leave work.

Darth Lefty 12-09-14 02:09 PM


Originally Posted by joeyduck (Post 17375191)
@Darth Lefty. I thought you actually meant fishermen. Salmon fishing is big here and I ride along the river and there are always fishermen on the bank when the season is open.

I did. We have a salmon run here that ends at Nimbus dam. Anglers park at the nearby fish hatchery and aquatic center and walk up the Hazel bridge and then down the MUP to get to the north side of the dam spillway. These guys are often dressed in muted color work clothes and rarely have lights. There are floodlights on top of the dam that blind me going eastbound in the evening. I'd give you a map link but my machine is being finicky today.

DiabloScott 12-09-14 02:25 PM


Originally Posted by joeyduck (Post 17375191)
@DiabloScott. What color was it?

It was gray, but it might've been dirty white. Had that classic crane look but it was surprisingly tall, and there was only one of him.

dramiscram 12-09-14 02:26 PM


Originally Posted by spivonious (Post 17375111)
Really wishing I had ridden today. They were calling for ice in the morning and heavy rain all day. It was drizzling when I came in and it's currently cloudy with no precipitation. :bang:

I really wish I hadn't ridden today, the forecast was for traces of snow until tomorrow morning but it's been snowing for the last 2 hours, allready 1-2 cm down and it keeps on going, the ride home will take a very loooong time. :bang:

dramiscram 12-09-14 02:30 PM


Originally Posted by HydroG33r (Post 17375113)
Totally agree. In most (all?) parts of Canada, vehicles are required to have daytime running lights; i.e. the headlights turn on as soon as you turn the car on. Unfortunately though, I think this sometimes makes it worse, as drivers can see their headlights in front of them, and often their dashboards light up too (I think that dashboard lighting should ONLY be on when your headlights are turned on... too dark to see your speedometer = dark enough to turn on your headlights).

It's in all of Canada since 1993. I don't know for every brand of car but , working at a Ford dealer, I know that on Ford vehicules your dash board won't light until the parking lights are lit. I think it's the same for all cars but I'm not 100% sure

joeyduck 12-09-14 02:33 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by DiabloScott (Post 17375718)
It was gray, but it might've been dirty white. Had that classic crane look but it was surprisingly tall, and there was only one of him.

I think it was a blue heron.

Great blue heron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=422056

They like to hang out near places like that and they have a large range.

DiabloScott 12-09-14 03:11 PM


Originally Posted by joeyduck (Post 17375747)
I think it was a blue heron.

Great blue heron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=422056

They like to hang out near places like that and they have a large range.

Yeah, could've been. I once saw Great Blue Heron road kill near Mt. Diablo:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hSZo5vjiPm...0/PB140384.JPG


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hSZo5vjiPm...0/PB140385.JPG

HydroG33r 12-09-14 03:19 PM


Originally Posted by dramiscram (Post 17375736)
It's in all of Canada since 1993. I don't know for every brand of car but , working at a Ford dealer, I know that on Ford vehicules your dash board won't light until the parking lights are lit. I think it's the same for all cars but I'm not 100% sure

I rent a lot of cars; some the dash lights turn on automatically with the daytime running lights. I don't like this. :)

mgw4jc 12-10-14 07:26 AM

I felt strong and energetic for yesterday's ride home. Stood up and cranked up some hills I normally take a bit slower. And sat up on the nose of the seat and into the drop bars in a more time-trial position for some parts. Not a record pace (those only happen on tail wind days), but a good workout anyway.

About 38F for the ride in this morning. Clear and nice.

tarwheel 12-10-14 07:33 AM

1 Attachment(s)
My pretty new touring bike got baptized yesterday as I had to ride home in wraparound showers from the nor'easter that moved up the East Coast. Forecasters had said the rain would be gone here by noon with just a few light sprinkles, but it turned into a torrent by afternoon. It was a very slow moving weather system and I thought it would pass by the time I left work, but it just kept getting worse. Ironically, it was supposed to be raining in the morning, so I thought I had dodged the bullet when I rode to work with wet roads but no showers.

Fortunately I finally installed fenders on my Soma Saga last weekend, and they worked great. They are SKS Longboards, which is a departure from my usual use of Planet Bike Cascadias. The Longboards were a royal pain to install, but drop down very low on the front wheel, providing great coverage. I won't buy SKS fenders again because they are so much trouble to install, however. The Cascadias are a breeze in comparison.

mgw4jc 12-10-14 08:04 AM


Originally Posted by tarwheel (Post 17377507)
Forecasters had said the rain would be gone here by noon with just a few light sprinkles, but it turned into a torrent by afternoon. It was a very slow moving weather system and I thought it would pass by the time I left work, but it just kept getting worse.

Wow, we had nothing yesterday here in the Charlotte area. Fenders look great though!

Hypno Toad 12-10-14 08:31 AM

Beautiful morning to bike around Minneapolis, trees covered in a frost - like somebody sprinkled them with powdered sugar. I took a couple pictures, but the cell phone camera couldn't do justice to this.

arsprod 12-10-14 09:03 AM


Originally Posted by tarwheel (Post 17377507)
My pretty new touring bike got baptized yesterday as I had to ride home in wraparound showers from the nor'easter that moved up the East Coast. Forecasters had said the rain would be gone here by noon with just a few light sprinkles, but it turned into a torrent by afternoon. It was a very slow moving weather system and I thought it would pass by the time I left work, but it just kept getting worse. Ironically, it was supposed to be raining in the morning, so I thought I had dodged the bullet when I rode to work with wet roads but no showers.

That's so pretty! 32F and finally a dry morning. I've been wanting to ride my road bike for weeks and finally got to today - soooooo smoooooth!

KCBikeCommuter 12-10-14 09:36 AM

Nice ride this morning. I'm never sure why some days seem better than others, but today was definitely a good day. The temperature was just below freezing with a bit of a cross-wind, but I really enjoyed the ride today!

Archwhorides 12-10-14 10:07 AM

Nice cool riding in a light drizzle at 40F. I was really grooving on the silent belt drive transmission. I need some sort of windshield wiper for my glasses in this misty weather, does anyone know of such a thing?

Ky_Rider 12-10-14 10:48 AM

50 F ride home Monday and 40 F ride into work Tuesday. Great temps for December riding. Enjoying winter so far. I've been alternating with my motorcycle. I haven't seen another motorcycle on the road lately. They all dissappear when the temps cool down.

spivonious 12-10-14 10:50 AM

Forecast was for snow, but I said screw the weatherman (after the forecasted downpour and ice turned into a light drizzle yesterday). Rode in with a 20-30mph headwind, but temps in the low 40s. Good times.

Hopefully the wind holds up for the ride home (and the snow stays away). I love big tailwinds.

bconneraz 12-10-14 11:22 AM


Originally Posted by tarwheel (Post 17377507)
My pretty new touring bike got baptized yesterday as I had to ride home in wraparound showers from the nor'easter that moved up the East Coast. Forecasters had said the rain would be gone here by noon with just a few light sprinkles, but it turned into a torrent by afternoon. It was a very slow moving weather system and I thought it would pass by the time I left work, but it just kept getting worse. Ironically, it was supposed to be raining in the morning, so I thought I had dodged the bullet when I rode to work with wet roads but no showers.

Fortunately I finally installed fenders on my Soma Saga last weekend, and they worked great. They are SKS Longboards, which is a departure from my usual use of Planet Bike Cascadias. The Longboards were a royal pain to install, but drop down very low on the front wheel, providing great coverage. I won't buy SKS fenders again because they are so much trouble to install, however. The Cascadias are a breeze in comparison.

Congats on your new bike; it looks great! Today was my new bikes first commute; believe it or not, after coming off a vintage MTB drop bar conversion, this thing feels lively and light. Go figure! After a few more rides, I'll cut down the steerer tube.
http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/...ps47bd4ac5.jpg

On to the ride- temps were cool and delightful this morning. Since this was my first commute on the new rig, I was taking my time, taking pics along the way, and stopping to pick up road treasures.

http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/...psahtwyjom.jpg

Then my phone rang; it was my counterpart at work that was supposed to open. Well, he asked if he could take the day off, so I had to haul ass the last half of my ride to get to work a bit earlier than expected to get the day set up.
I really look forward to my ride home today. No rushing, no racing; just me and my new bike getting to know each other. It feels so odd to look down and see a black frame after riding a red bike for so long, but odd in a good way.


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