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-   -   2015!! How was your commute today? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/987578-2015-how-your-commute-today.html)

KCBikeCommuter 05-18-15 07:10 AM

I saw 5 or 6 commuters this morning. That may be a record... and certainly more than the official ride-to-work day last week.

bmthom.gis 05-18-15 07:23 AM

I made it! After a rough start of having zero motivation to do the simplest tasks this morning (didn't want to wake up, didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to get up off of the sofa after breakfast...) I convinced myself that I would be having an equally hard time getting motivated if I decided to drive....and that all I would gain by doing so is an extra 30 min in front of the television watching Matt Lauer ride a bike from Boston to NYC. I may as well do what ML was doing and hop on my bike!

It is humid down here....and as I was pumping up my tires in the garage (door already open) I was starting to dread it a bit....but as soon as I got out I felt a cool refreshing breeze that ended up being a tail wind! Needless to say I was pretty happy from there out. Traffic was a bit heavy, but that's what happens when a dillydally around. I like the route I experimented with last week getting from where the bike lane ends to my office, so I did it again. Got caught at a RR crossing....oh well. At least going that way I had a bunch of shade to wait under. Other than that, it ended up being a very pleasant ride!

Chance of storms this afternoon, but totally worth it for feeling better about Monday already.

Ride safe!

arsprod 05-18-15 08:33 AM

70F cloudy and headwind, likely storms sometime today. I fixed a flat last night, came out this morning and it was flat again. Lessons learned (again) - 1) check the tire and wheel (I know there's a thorn or something stuck in the tire), 2) have multiple bikes :)

MikeRides 05-18-15 10:55 AM

Typical Monday morning, didn't want to get out of bed, moved slower than usual, just in general very tired. My kid woke me up a quarter after 7, screaming "I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!," I felt like telling her to go back to bed that I'd write her an excuse for today but since I'm only working two days this week I decided I better not call into work. Legs still sore from the metric I rode yesterday, so I just took the "express" route (17 vs 20 miles) this morning. Traffic was backed up, and everyone seemed to be impatient today, I had 4 drivers honk at me as I rode by their idling vehicles, I waved back.

Hypno Toad 05-18-15 11:44 AM

Today's bike commute from my house to home office was a long route the co-op to bring home lunch. I'm recovering from the Almanzo 100 on Saturday, and the legs are still tight. So I took the city bike for a mellow-paced 10-mile route.

But the weather... 40F and 25 mph winds!?!? It's the middle of MAY!!! C'MON! Frost warning tonight means I'm going to be putting sheets all over the wife's gardens and moving the pots into the house. Minnesota weather.

Outnumbered 05-18-15 11:58 AM


Originally Posted by MikeRides (Post 17815489)
Traffic was backed up, and everyone seemed to be impatient today, I had 4 drivers honk at me as I rode by their idling vehicles, I waved back.

I love doing that.

bmthom.gis 05-18-15 12:33 PM


Originally Posted by Hypno Toad (Post 17815682)
Today's bike commute from my house to home office was a long route the co-op to bring home lunch. I'm recovering from the Almanzo 100 on Saturday, and the legs are still tight. So I took the city bike for a mellow-paced 10-mile route.

But the weather... 40F and 25 mph winds!?!? It's the middle of MAY!!! C'MON! Frost warning tonight means I'm going to be putting sheets all over the wife's gardens and moving the pots into the house. Minnesota weather.

I would rather deal with the heat and humidity down here than deal with 40 F and frost warnings halfway through May! Brrrrr

Hypno Toad 05-18-15 12:46 PM


Originally Posted by bmthom.gis (Post 17815843)
I would rather deal with the heat and humidity down here than deal with 40 F and frost warnings halfway through May! Brrrrr

I hear you, but to each his own... My brother is in Williamsburg, VA and we nearly relocated to Charlotte, NC. Based on a good number of June/July trips, I'm not a fan of the heat and the melting humidity. It does boil down to what you get used to, I find biking at sub-zero temps to be enjoyable - but many people think biking below freezing it too cold.

All that said, I'm still gonna whine about frost warnings in mid-May.

bmthom.gis 05-18-15 02:22 PM


Originally Posted by Hypno Toad (Post 17815884)
I hear you, but to each his own... My brother is in Williamsburg, VA and we nearly relocated to Charlotte, NC. Based on a good number of June/July trips, I'm not a fan of the heat and the melting humidity. It does boil down to what you get used to, I find biking at sub-zero temps to be enjoyable - but many people think biking below freezing it too cold.

All that said, I'm still gonna whine about frost warnings in mid-May.

I don't think biking at sub zero temps is any more miserable than just having sub zero temps to begin with!!! :roflmao2:

It also does literally boil....down to what you get used to. I wish it melted the fat off my midsection.

I'm just hilarious today! :deadhorse2:


At least you got out there. Those 10 miles probably did a lot to help loosen your legs up and they will thank you for it vs just sitting around.

Hypno Toad 05-18-15 02:27 PM


Originally Posted by bmthom.gis (Post 17816242)
Those 10 miles probably did a lot to help loosen your legs up and they will thank you for it vs just sitting around.

So true!

noglider 05-18-15 03:22 PM


Originally Posted by bmthom.gis (Post 17816242)
I don't think biking at sub zero temps is any more miserable than just having sub zero temps to begin with!!! :roflmao2:

Have you ever tried it? I rode a little when it was under 20ºF this past winter. With the wind chill, it was probably 0ºF or below. It was definitely more miserable pedaling than walking, because my feet were moving at twice the speed of the bike, and it's very windy along the Hudson River.

bmthom.gis 05-18-15 08:31 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 17816501)
Have you ever tried it? I rode a little when it was under 20ºF this past winter. With the wind chill, it was probably 0ºF or below. It was definitely more miserable pedaling than walking, because my feet were moving at twice the speed of the bike, and it's very windy along the Hudson River.

I've been mountain biking when it was in the 20s. That was miserable enough for me...as was just being outside in that weather. I moved south for the warmth!

essiemyra 05-19-15 05:02 AM

The commute was very nice uneventful ride this morning. Temp is at 52f degrees with overcast skies that will rain soon. It had started spitting as I left the house. T

mgw4jc 05-19-15 06:13 AM

The ride home yesterday was nice. I had a bird fly in front of me and come closer than I've ever seen before. He swooped down from my left and looked like he was going to land on the road right in front of me. His wings were spread out as though he was stopping, but then seemed to freak out because of a bike about to hit him and shot back up. He was easily less than 8 inches from my front tire.

The first part of my ride this morning had more than usual traffic. Not sure what's up with that. 68 degrees and 94% humidity. It looked like fog. It needs to just rain, but we only have a 20% chance.

afirtl 05-19-15 06:53 AM

First commute of the year for me (after some much needed upgrades to the bike via birthday presents).

50f degrees with 72% humidity. A little crisp, but enjoyable nonetheless. Really looking forward to the hot sunny commute on the way home.

bmthom.gis 05-19-15 07:59 AM

Terrific ride in this morning. I found a way around my least favorite road to be on....it's all chip seal and is falling apart. It adds less than a mile and a couple of hills - and it really put me out in the middle of nowhere. No traffic, just a lot of trees and a two way road. Traffic was pretty light in general. I felt like I was going super slow today but ended up with my normal average. Predicting storms on the way home, so I hope I can dodge them

noglider 05-19-15 08:30 AM

I avoided riding yesterday and today because of the threat of rain. I think both times were mistakes. To make up for it, I think I ought to ride tomorrow through Friday (three days). But at least I did have a short ride on Citibike (the big bike share) in the morning, running to the post office before I got on the subway to work.

arsprod 05-19-15 08:59 AM

Heat and humidity replaced by dry, cold air - 48F and windy. I wonder if other people focus as much on weather as cyclists?

PatrickGSR94 05-19-15 09:05 AM

After several days in Atlanta (including riding my own bike) I'm back at it this week. Had a super nice ride this morning, felt faster and stronger for some reason. ;) No help from wind, so it was a little surprising. I took some uphill grades 1-2 gears higher than usual in some places.

RidingMatthew 05-19-15 10:00 AM


Originally Posted by essiemyra (Post 17808634)
I am sorry you no longer have lilacs to enjoy, hopefully there is another flower to enjoy!!

oh yes waiting on some purples one not sure of name plus I hope our Cana lillies come up and bloom this year. our pink dogwood has already flowered too. The lilacs sure smell good though

groovestew 05-19-15 10:07 AM


Originally Posted by joeyduck (Post 17809408)
I also love lilacs. I'm disappointed that the bloom here finished almost three weeks ago.

I did get to enjoy their scent beside my hospital bed for a few days while they were still blooming.

Up here in the tundra, our lilacs haven't started blooming yet! The maydays and crab apple trees are resplendent, however.

Pleasant ride this morning on my usual morning loop. The nice thing about riding before starting my work-from-home day is that winds are generally light in the morning. It's been fairly breezy recently, but I get to miss most of it.

RidingMatthew 05-19-15 10:29 AM

66 and pretty humid this morning for the ride. they are calling for rain! I am pretty sure I am getting wet today. There was nothing yesterday, so that was nice. My new prescription sunglasses are in so one day I have to drive because I can not make it from work to their office by bike in time. :( I have a revamped an old pair for Mountain biking. Yellow for higher contrast and some polarized prescription Oakley$$$

no motor? 05-19-15 11:00 AM

It could be like this all year long for me.

MikeRides 05-19-15 02:54 PM

Forecast called for thunderstorms today so I drove in. Stopped to help someone change a flat tire and ended up a few minutes late, go figure - when I bike I'm always on-time but the day I decide to drive I end up late. Oh well. I'm on vacation starting tomorrow so the closest thing to a commute the next 6 days will be a grocery store errands.

essiemyra 05-20-15 05:16 AM

This is my last bike commute for this week, and not so uneventful. I saw a deer cross the street this am. I know we have deer in our area, I just do not usually see them. The temp was in the low fifties with the sun rising.

mgw4jc 05-20-15 06:50 AM

A nice low humidity 65F this morning. Clear and sunny too. A very nice morning such that I would have liked to keep going instead of stopping at work. Now that it is light earlier and warmer, I see more morning recreational riders.

bmthom.gis 05-20-15 07:33 AM

Made it to humpday! Starting with the ride home last night - mostly miserable...headwinds, traffic, leg crushing hills, but I can't say I wasn't smiling 95% of the time just spinning along in a lower gear than normal. My legs were definitely tired though and that was the 3rd day in a row I had done that route - enough where I needed a break. So today I did the bimodal thing with the the wife. Last night I finished up on my Canadian Peugeot. I need to tweak the FD set screws a bit more, but other than that it was a pretty pleasant ride. I made 3 miles into a little over 7.

Here she is in all her glory, eh.

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/...psv0qb3mam.jpg

Hypno Toad 05-20-15 07:55 AM

Yesterday's 'commute' was 25 miles (round trip) to my LBS to drop of a wheel for some TLC. I wish somebody would have taken a photo of me riding - HA! And it took extra thinking when going through doors! Temps in MN are still stupid cold, yesterday's ride started around 40F, today's warmer... 45F.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/se...E=w552-h676-no

groovestew 05-20-15 08:40 AM

Another nice ride to the office today. Had an "oh yeah, I'm on a fixie" moment when a squirrel ran across my path and my legs instinctively stopped pedalling, except they didn't.

Pretty uneventful otherwise. A bit chilly for a t-shirt (6C/43F) but it felt warmer in the sun and it's gonna be pretty warm this afternoon and I wanted to travel light.

arsprod 05-20-15 08:52 AM


Originally Posted by Hypno Toad (Post 17821748)
... stupid cold, yesterday's ride started around 40F, today's warmer... 45F.

Well put, stupid cold. I did not want to get out of bed - too damn cold. I did not want to go outside - too damn cold. I did not want to ride to work - too damn cold. I did anyway, argh... still better than driving


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