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Originally Posted by enigmaT120
(Post 16842741)
Nice ride in. When I got to the top of the ridge in the middle of my ride, from some points I could see Mts. Jefferson and Hood, and a little later I could see Jefferson and the 3 Sisters. With the sunrise behind them, pretty.
Last night around the same area I rode past a flock of turkeys wandering around with a bunch of their babies, about the size of pigeons. Only two cars passed me in 9 miles. I think things are a little busier this time of year because daylight happens earlier. |
Thanks guys. Most of the time when I come down now I stay at the RV park on Cariboo or the Best Western on North Road. Daughter up at SFU is the main focal point - the riding has got worse over the years.
That stretch of Kensington along in front of the sports complex, we used to use that as the connector from Canada Way over into North Burnaby and then hook up over to the North Shore. Boy have things changed. Getting a LOT busier here too, especially over the next couple of months. It's fun looking at those maps. I'll look at them a little closer tonight and see what it all adds up to. |
Crazy ride home this afternoon. I left work 30 minutes early because radar showed showers popping up all over the place, and I thought I might get lucky and beat them home. No such luck. It starting raining while I was unlocking my bike from the rack. I held up for a few minutes until it looked like rain had passed and then headed home. The showers were tracking to the NE, which unfortunately is the direction I go for the first 4 miles, so I caught up with them. It started raining harder, so I ducked for cover at a school, and checked the radar again on my iPhone.
Radar showed more showers training toward me, so I figured I better get going again. At that point my route turns north and then west, so I rode my way out of the storm. Heading west the sky was mostly clear, so figured I had dodged the bullet. However, when my route turned north again, I quickly saw that the thunderstorm was building and I would be heading back into it. About 1 mile from my house the bottom dropped out, and it started pouring in sheets with strong gusts blowing the rain sideways. Needless to so, I got totally drenched. Fortunately there was no lightning or hail, but that was the worst rain I've ridden through in a very long time. |
My main commuter is out of commission for a few days so I took the road bike. It's a treat to suddenly lose 5 pounds that way :)
Also, I discovered that doing the Grouse Grind on the weekend really helps with hill climbing on a bike... Gonna start doing that more often. |
Originally Posted by Mr. Hairy Legs
(Post 16843601)
My main commuter is out of commission for a few days so I took the road bike. It's a treat to suddenly lose 5 pounds that way :)
Also, I discovered that doing the Grouse Grind on the weekend really helps with hill climbing on a bike... Gonna start doing that more often. |
I have a nice ride home. Just a saddle bag, no panniers. I had a decent head wind and my westerly portion I managed to average 28.1 km/h for 4.1 km, that made me happy. Then I puttered over the river and cranked up the hill. Chased a group and blew past them, I timed the pass right so I took the right lane in front of a slow semi and they took the bike lane. I made sure to ring my bell as to not scare the crap out of them. Then one of the riders shoaled me at a stop light. Seriously I just burned you up a hill, how do you think passing me at a stop light at the top is a good idea?
Then almost home I was stopped in a round about as a guy come down the hill looking peeved at me for stopping to let a mom and her son cross. Then he proceeds to pass me and another car with oncoming traffic. I understand why some people have bad views of cyclists. Otherwise 11.5 km averaging a bit over 25 km/h hour. Faster than with panniers and my son, but not a lot faster. |
Originally Posted by wapiti
(Post 16842794)
Thanks guys. Most of the time when I come down now I stay at the RV park on Cariboo or the Best Western on North Road. Daughter up at SFU is the main focal point - the riding has got worse over the years.
That stretch of Kensington along in front of the sports complex, we used to use that as the connector from Canada Way over into North Burnaby and then hook up over to the North Shore. Boy have things changed. Getting a LOT busier here too, especially over the next couple of months. It's fun looking at those maps. I'll look at them a little closer tonight and see what it all adds up to. For crossing north-south, I think there are some better routes further west on the Burnaby side, but certainly are a few on the Vancouver side. |
4 Attachment(s)
Originally Posted by joeyduck
(Post 16843640)
I have a nice ride home. Just a saddle bag, no panniers. I had a decent head wind and my westerly portion I managed to average 28.1 km/h for 4.1 km, that made me happy. Then I puttered over the river and cranked up the hill. Chased a group and blew past them, I timed the pass right so I took the right lane in front of a slow semi and they took the bike lane. I made sure to ring my bell as to not scare the crap out of them. Then one of the riders shoaled me at a stop light. Seriously I just burned you up a hill, how do you think passing me at a stop light at the top is a good idea?
Then almost home I was stopped in a round about as a guy come down the hill looking peeved at me for stopping to let a mom and her son cross. Then he proceeds to pass me and another car with oncoming traffic. I understand why some people have bad views of cyclists. Otherwise 11.5 km averaging a bit over 25 km/h hour. Faster than with panniers and my son, but not a lot faster. I did about 31km riding home; took the Cypress route up & over from Kits, then North Arm Trail to Cambie, then down to 63rd Ave (unsure of name of this route if it has one) over to Ontario, down to Kent. I ducked south on Kerr to the river and checked out the trail there I saw on Google Maps and inquired about here earlier. It was decent; moderate packed gravel with a few loose gravel sections only a few metres long each. A few photos attached. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=386781http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=386782http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=386784 The scenery was nice, but because of the loose gravel sections I didn't want to get distracted by it and end up losing control of my bike. Also, there were LOADS of bugs that I had to try not to eat. All in all, I'll probably stay on Kent where it's quiet but paved, and I can ride faster. Before I knew it I was in Burnaby, where the gravel got a bit looser but not horrible. Was still maintaining ~28-33km/h on the moderately packed gravel from Kerr into Burnaby, and about 25-28 km/h once it got looser in Burnaby. I did get lost following a trail along the river past Byrne Road trying to link up with a route into New Westminster. Ended up with a sketchy ride for ~500m along very loose gravel that dead ended without warning at a small creek. Had to ride back and consult Google Maps to get me out of that pickle; fortunately it wasn't far to pavement, and I was able to get there without having to backtrack all the way to byrne. I'm tellin' ya though, once I hit that pavement again I felt weightless! Pushing 40km/h on the flat paved road steady for a few kms, which is pretty good for me. UNFORTUNATELY, my Garmin was acting up, and while it tracked my distance, only showed me a straight line from my starting point to my house. I posted about that issue here. |
Wet! Was debating on driving or riding.. frankly without the ride in the morning the day just seems to suck. Need to bring a fan to dry everything off.
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More humidity and fog and wet streets...but I like it!
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A very nice commute to work today, with mostly cloudy skies but hey no rain. The temp was a nice 56f degrees. Hopefully it will hold off raining on my way home. The forecast calls for pop-up showers in the afternoon and rain in the evening.
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A couple of threatening thunderstorms caused me to bail on the ride home yesterday. I do appreciate a wife that can do a rain rescue when needed.
I left a few minutes early and decided to take a slightly longer route that puts me on a nice MUP for a bit. It has a wooden section which has a couple of bends in it going over a marshy area. The wooden section was wet from last night's rain. Before hitting the wet wooden section, I realized that wet wood is slippery, so I slowed down. But the first little bend to the left proved that I did not slow down enough. BAM! The bike and I went down and slid a couple of feet. My left hip took the brunt of the fall. My left leg just got really dirty. My left foot was already unclipped, but my right was not. So I got out of that and just sat there a minute making sure all was intact. Then I got up, brushed off, and picked my bike up. The wood was like ice. My left brake hood was out of whack, so I pushed that back over and carefully continued on to work. I did some clean up once I got to the office. I have a bit of a rash on my left hip and a minor scrape on my knee. It's a bit sore just sitting here, but I think I'll survive. Next time I'll be more careful on that wet wood. |
The is the warning the National Weather Service sent out AFTER I had started riding home on my bike yesterday. Apparently the storm generated right over the city because there was only a few pop-up showers showing up on radar when I left my office and headed to my bike. Needless to say, it was an "invigorating" ride home. A bunch of trees blew down, some in my neighborhood.
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 454 PM EDT WED JUN 11 2014 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... NORTHERN JOHNSTON COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... WESTERN NASH COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... SOUTHWESTERN WILSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... WAKE COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... FRANKLIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... * UNTIL 600 PM EDT * AT 454 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR SMITHFIELD...AND MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... RALEIGH...CARY...LOUISBURG...WAKE FOREST...GARNER...CLAYTON... ZEBULON...FRANKLINTON...BAILEY...BUNN...RDU INTERNATIONAL... MORRISVILLE...KNIGHTDALE...WENDELL...ROLESVILLE...KENLY...SPRING HOPE...YOUNGSVILLE...MIDDLESEX AND SIMS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... STRAIGHT LINE WINDS CAN BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND DAMAGE MOBILE HOMES AND OTHER BUILDINGS. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AS FLYING DEBRIS GENERATED BY DAMAGING WINDS CAN BE DEADLY. BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 454 PM EDT WED JUN 11 2014 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... NORTHERN JOHNSTON COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... WESTERN NASH COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... SOUTHWESTERN WILSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... WAKE COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... FRANKLIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... * UNTIL 600 PM EDT * AT 454 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR SMITHFIELD...AND MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... RALEIGH...CARY...LOUISBURG...WAKE FOREST...GARNER...CLAYTON... ZEBULON...FRANKLINTON...BAILEY...BUNN...RDU INTERNATIONAL... MORRISVILLE...KNIGHTDALE...WENDELL...ROLESVILLE...KENLY...SPRING HOPE...YOUNGSVILLE...MIDDLESEX AND SIMS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... STRAIGHT LINE WINDS CAN BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND DAMAGE MOBILE HOMES AND OTHER BUILDINGS. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AS FLYING DEBRIS GENERATED BY DAMAGING WINDS CAN BE DEADLY. |
Originally Posted by tarwheel
(Post 16843185)
Crazy ride home this afternoon. I left work 30 minutes early because radar showed showers popping up all over the place, and I thought I might get lucky and beat them home. No such luck. It starting raining while I was unlocking my bike from the rack. I held up for a few minutes until it looked like rain had passed and then headed home. The showers were tracking to the NE, which unfortunately is the direction I go for the first 4 miles, so I caught up with them. It started raining harder, so I ducked for cover at a school, and checked the radar again on my iPhone.
Radar showed more showers training toward me, so I figured I better get going again. At that point my route turns north and then west, so I rode my way out of the storm. Heading west the sky was mostly clear, so figured I had dodged the bullet. However, when my route turned north again, I quickly saw that the thunderstorm was building and I would be heading back into it. About 1 mile from my house the bottom dropped out, and it started pouring in sheets with strong gusts blowing the rain sideways. Needless to so, I got totally drenched. Fortunately there was no lightning or hail, but that was the worst rain I've ridden through in a very long time. |
Wet, that's how my commute was today! Don't think I've been dry since yesterday at 4:30; rode home in the rain, had a shower, had supper, went to dragonboat practice on the lake and although it wasn't raining, I got spashed a lot and then it was hot and muggy last night and woke up in a sweat only to ride in to work this morning in the rain. At least it was a mild temperature, 18C/64F, so I felt comfortable. Rain is forecast for the rest of the day but ending this evening for a few days.
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Second day off commuting in a row ... step son's eighth grade graduation tonight.
This sucks, but at least yesterday the weather was awful. Cannot wait to ride tomorrow. |
Wet and rainy, tonight will be wet, rainy and windy, great...
No bike yesterday because I had to take my van to work to get the exhaust fixed. |
I was fast and I had a few people with me which was nice, though I never got a draft, always pulled. But there have been a lot of cyclists of the last two days.
I lied, I got a draft from a backhoe going 35 km/h. The only problem was their lights are way on top of the cab and make it difficult to watch for. I almost got right hooked by it. He either put on his left turn or his four ways (this may have happened I saw a left turn and possibly by the time i glanced right the right was off). He also seemed to go left a bit, so I went right, then his right signal was on and he was making a dive for a drive way. Not too close, but closer than I like. The guy had used proper signals up to that, I had been following a few cars behind that turned off. Why put four ways on to turn right? Anywho it was a nice commute, a bit muggy for vancouver (85% humiditiy) but it is cool 15°C (60°F), but a nice ride. |
Pretty awesome and fast. Cool out and had a tailwind. We'll see what the afternoon brings.
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Got a little damp on the ride in. Heavy showers expected on the ride home; I might need to affix some pontoons to the bike.
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Wet seems the operative word here - I don't think I've had a single ride yet this week when the streets weren't wet.
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Nice pre-work ride this morning under sunny skies and low winds. It was slightly marred riding through a neighbourhood where the city was dumping copious amounts of water on the streets, probably in preparation for sweeping, but there's a lot of construction in the area and the water just made a lot of mud that got all over my shoes, backside, and bike. Thanks, Edmonton, I appreciate it.
I have a loop route that I've been taking recently on days when I work from home, and near the end there's a climb out of the river valley (about 150 feet vertical) that I've always found to be particularly difficult. Today was the first time I attempted that hill on my fixed-gear bike, and I managed to make it all the way up without stalling, but I was going pretty slow for the final 25% or so! |
Much earlier than usual, was out the door shortly after 05:00. I live on the far East side of Capitol Hill here in DC, my usual 4 miles can take anywhere from 30-40 minutes with morning traffic and stoplights. 20 minutes door-to-door this morning.
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No bike commute this am as the forecast calls for heavy rains today.
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Wasn't supposed to rain last night, someone messed up without telling me. The problem is that I left my helmet on the clothesline to dry and so I had to put on a soaking wet helmet this morning and on a bald head, that isn't fun.
Commute in this morning was nice, mild 15C/59F, and strongly overcast with low clouds at the beginning but the moderate breeze through the ride blew most of the clouds away enabling me to finish the ride in mostly sun conditions. |
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