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

dramiscram 12-22-14 10:17 AM

Cold morning, -12°c. It may be the last commute of 2014 but I hope not. Tomorrow the forecast is for snow, than freezing rain, then rain with very very strong Winds up to 80kmh so I'll take the van.

I also work next monday and tuesday so I hope for one or two more bike ride before we kick out 2014.

If I don't get the chance I wish you all a merry Xmas and a very very happy 2015. I enjoy reading from all of you on every morning and I feel like I know some of you a little bit by reading about your daily commute. I really enjoy this thread and will be looking for it in 2015

wphamilton 12-22-14 10:27 AM

It looks like I'll wind up with 234 work days commuting by bike this year. Which mainly means I need to stop blowing off my PTO and join workaholics anonymous.

joeyduck 12-22-14 12:29 PM

This morning’s commute was nice and cool. The temperature was about 5°C (40°F) and it was wet like it rained but I think it was just a heavy fog/dew last night. But it felt rather cold on the start of the ride. I only saw a handful of cyclists and car traffic was light as well. I guess that schools and universities are closed and people are home waiting for Christmas feasting.

Friday I had my company Christmas party which is a traditional Chinese seafood feast. It was at a good restaurant and was ten courses. I have grown accustomed to the food as one of the few non-Asian people at the company and I enjoyed myself.

The ride to the party was about 7.5 km of flat pedaling. I didn’t want to get too sweaty so I tried to go slow and kept my half zip shirt unzipped. But I must have had a tailwind since it took me 18 minutes to get there (I subtracted the four minutes I had to stop and adjust my load) and I averaged 26.5 km/h. I was warm but cooled off okay and did a full washroom change from lyrca to my dress clothes and stashed my panniers under a table. After dinner I had decided I did not want to ride home and opted for the transit option since it was 9:45 pm and less than 1 km on either end to and from my start and finish. Co-workers were surprised I was riding home, but I had to say no I was taking the train.

I am only working today this week and I will work two or three days next week so I will hopefully hit 3,000 km since June 21 when I got my smart phone and strava which afforded me consistent tracking. I am currently at 2,976 km and my shortest full round trip is 23 km. This is my best commuting year ever. I rode one or two days in January and intermittently in February and March and most of April and as mentioned above all but four days since the start of May.

enigmaT120 12-22-14 02:39 PM

I'm done commuting out to Stayton for the year. Last Thur. my bus I catch in the afternoon to go to downtown Salem was 20 minutes late, causing me to miss my next bus which goes out to Dallas where I leave my bike for the day. I had to wait another half hour for the next (and last) bus out to Dallas, but it takes a longer route so I got home at 8:00 pm instead of 7:00. It was pouring rain the whole ride home but I expected that and dressed for it. I didn't mind it. It's part of my program to get over my rain phobia, as was a long walk up in the woods last Sat.

Tomorrow I'm working in Salem and should have no trouble catching an earlier bus home, so can ride again. That driver that picks me up here in Stayton is always late, but with the seasonal traffic she's later than usual.

PatrickGSR94 12-22-14 03:52 PM

Was going to try to commute both today and tomorrow, but decided to take the car today as I had some larger items to carry and also several errands during lunch. Tomorrow should be a bit warmer today, I'm just hoping for no, or only a small bit of rain.

mgw4jc 12-23-14 07:49 AM

I went back and forth this morning but decided to ride. It was wet but not raining, maybe just a little mist. This was my last commute as I'm off for the rest of the year after today. And my family is picking me up after work for dinner and a movie tonight, so no ride home.

I didn't start tracking my commutes until late February when I changed jobs and moved. Previously my commute had been about 6 miles. It went to 12+ when I started.

Year end stats:
Total commute miles: 4480
Number of work days I rode: 189 (though several were one way only with a delivery or pick-up on other end)
Average Speed: 16.0 mph
Average Distance: 12.06 miles

If I stay with the same commute, I should come close to breaking 5,000 miles next year.

RidingMatthew 12-23-14 07:51 AM

havent ridden this week due to the rain and cold tomorrow is supposed to be warm 62 but strong wind and rain. So I might be able to ride the day after Christmas when it turns colder again. I mountain biked Sunday and my throat/ head has not felt good since so driving has been kinda nice.

Archwhorides 12-23-14 07:58 AM

Nice ride in Beantown, 45F with misty drizzle to cool the bones. Had to de-layer on the way. My GF is getting me some Shower's Pass rain pants for Xmas - looking forward to that!

spivonious 12-23-14 08:27 AM

Light rain and fog this morning, around 40F with a slight head wind. I love riding in weather like this :)

arsprod 12-23-14 09:28 AM

Today's my last commute of 2014 and what a way to end it - 49F with some light drizzle. It's supposed to get colder this afternoon and rain but not below 40, isn't it winter now?! Happy holidays to all - see you next year!

KCBikeCommuter 12-23-14 09:51 AM

Temperature was around 35F when I left this morning. The streets were wet, but it was a fairly nice ride, except for one corner where the back tire stepped out a bit. It wasn't much, but was enough to raise the heart-rate for a few seconds. This happened as I was heading into the Missouri River valley. I then noticed all the cars in the valley had a think layer of frost on the windows. Yep, it was a little colder down there! I was very careful around all corners the rest of the way to work.

PatrickGSR94 12-23-14 10:05 AM

Well poo, had planned on riding today, but once again woke up and saw the weather forecast and was like nahhh. Plus I'm leaving work early today to finish Christmas shopping. I would go home and get the utility bike and trailer, but it's supposed to be raining all afternoon.

bconneraz 12-23-14 11:27 AM

I was so pumped for todays ride in; the temps are unseasonably warm, traffic is light due to the holiday; the morning had all the makings of a perfect commute. About 3 miles into my ride, on a road with 6 lanes, and no traffic, I had some ass hat give me about 6 inches when he passed me. I've been doing this commuting gig for a long time, and it takes a bit to rattle me, but man did this guy piss me off. I don't think I stopped yelling F bombs at the top of my lungs about every 30 seconds until about 10 miles in. I hope the guy gets a lump of coal in his stocking.

I'm going to take some advice from Taylor Swift, shake it off, and look forward to riding home with temps near 80. This is winter? Can't wait!

timvan_78 12-23-14 04:02 PM

Got to sneak in one last 2014 commute yesterday...4,537kms commuting on the year, which is less than last year, but I had 2 pretty significant blocks of time off (of commuting) due to injury. Merry christmas to all & happy riding in 2015!

RidingMatthew 12-26-14 08:43 AM

Rode to work TODAY! 31 degrees and I was comfortable. I still fogged up when I stopped so I am not sure if I should have less clothes to start or what! I could not imagine hitting 30mph in 31degrees only .8 miles into my ride with less clothes on. oh well burned off some Christmas Cookies/ food.

bconneraz 12-26-14 10:44 AM

Santa Ana winds are blowing here in a big way; it actually made my ride in really fun as I had a tailwind most of the way. It was my first commute ever with hot coffee; my son gave me an insulated stainless bottle with a push button top for Christmas. It's crazy how something so simple, that I've overlooked for years, can make for such a great experience. No real traffic to speak of which was great too. With a couple of commutes to go for the year, it looks like I'll surpass my goal of 5k miles commuting.

bconneraz 12-27-14 10:56 AM

another beautiful morning. Today is a milestone day for me; on my trip home, I will surpass my all time record for annual miles. I'm even more excited and proud of what will take place on my commute on the 31st; my first year with over 5k commuting miles. It's been a great year on the bike, and it's not over just yet!

KCBikeCommuter 12-27-14 03:59 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgAYRGAcykE

Rode the commuter bike yesterday, but since I didn't have to work, I pointed it away from downtown and headed out to the country to test out my new HD camera. Temperature was around 45F, and I was a little over dressed, but otherwise a nice ride with almost no traffic for a change.

dcb23 12-29-14 05:59 AM

Hope everyone had/is having a great holiday season.

One week with family in Chicgao...and I am rusty, fatter than I was, and generally feelingout of shape. Had a nice ride in but my legs felt stiff. 45F / +7 here in DC but colder temps returning tomorrow.

arsprod 12-29-14 07:49 AM


Originally Posted by bconneraz (Post 17416888)
It was my first commute ever with hot coffee; my son gave me an insulated stainless bottle with a push button top for Christmas. It's crazy how something so simple, that I've overlooked for years, can make for such a great experience. No real traffic to speak of which was great too. With a couple of commutes to go for the year, it looks like I'll surpass my goal of 5k miles commuting.

Wait, a coffee cup that fits in a water bottle cage? Details please, and congrats on 5k

KCBikeCommuter 12-29-14 08:27 AM

2 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by arsprod (Post 17423041)
Wait, a coffee cup that fits in a water bottle cage? Details please, and congrats on 5k

Here is a picture of my Trek coffee cup that fits in my water bottle cage.

Cold ride this morning (21F/-6C), but no wind. Really cold the next two mornings (10F/-12C & 4F/-15C), so today may be the last commute of the year!
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=425328

PatrickGSR94 12-29-14 08:36 AM

Finally back on the road bike, haven't ridden it since my 12/19 Friday morning commute. Cool and very damp this morning, but not raining. 37 deg. F, streets still wet from the rain we had all weekend. Good thing I still had the fenders on the bike. I was dressed pretty well. I could tell that many people are still off work and school. In 15.5 miles I had a grand total of 8 cars overtake me.

I'm leaving the office early on Wednesday, and I might try to bike commute every day this week until then. That would put me over 400 miles for December, a far cry from barely getting in 100 miles in December last year.

And for when it really gets cold, like in the 20's, I think I may have finally figured out my face gear. I picked up one of these "UltraClavas" the other day, which has mouth and nose slots for breathing, and then some inexpensive ski goggles that will hopefully keep out my exhaled breath and not fog up like glasses do when my mouth and nose are covered. Might get to try them out Wednesday morning.

arsprod 12-29-14 08:45 AM


Originally Posted by KCBikeCommuter (Post 17423122)
Here is a picture of my Trek coffee cup that fits in my water bottle cage.

That's brilliant - and apparently not sold any more. I'm on a coffee mission now. Next will be a balaclava with form-fitted opening for drinking...

dramiscram 12-29-14 09:14 AM

Last commute of the year, tommorow would be a good day but I MUST take the wife's car to the garage for an overdue oïl change and the Inside cleanup I promised her months ago.

Today was windy but I left home early so I was able to take it easy.

Happy new year everyone

tarwheel 12-29-14 09:25 AM

I was hoping to end my commuting year with a bang, but today was more of the same -- pouring rain. This has been the rainiest year I can recall and it has really cut into my commuting. Hopefully I'll be able to ride one final commute for 2014 tomorrow but the forecast is not looking very promising.

Ironically, I should finish up 2014 with my highest total annual mileage ever, well over 9,000. I could have easily topped 10,000 miles if we hadn't had so much lousy weather and my commuting mileage was closer to normal. I made up for the lack of commuting with touring. During the past year, I've toured over 1,200 miles including two weeklong trips and three weekend trips.


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