2019! The “How was your commute?” thread!
#301
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I know cops can seemingly be illogical at times, but I really don't see why they would blow this off. They have a make and model, so it shouldn't be too difficult to look up local registrations and check them out. It's not guaranteed to work, but they should definitely try.
Sounds like the on-base cops are up for a CSI-esque challenge in this case, however.
I'm also considering a camera with all of the dumb stuff I regularly encounter.
#302
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I imagine base police would be more possessive and protective of their base. Like police in their own neighborhood.
#303
Banned
Good. Bike needed some love as it had been sitting outside in the rain for a week or so without usage :/
#304
Senior Member
65F at 6am today. Warming to 77F, despite being overcast this morning. I wore shorts and short sleeve t-shirt for the first time on a morning commute since fall. Pretty windy too.
Advantage definitely went to the cyclist today at one "T" intersection. First 2 of about 5 cars were turning left. I wanted to turn right. I filtered up to just behind the front car where I could watch the traffic. A good, open break and off I went as everyone else still waited for the guy trying to turn left. #winning
Advantage definitely went to the cyclist today at one "T" intersection. First 2 of about 5 cars were turning left. I wanted to turn right. I filtered up to just behind the front car where I could watch the traffic. A good, open break and off I went as everyone else still waited for the guy trying to turn left. #winning
#305
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those of you up north will be hating this but it was 59F and humid. I wore shorts and a long sleeve jersey but it wasn't really needed. It was a great ride. Roads were wet from rain overnight. Thank goodness for fenders!
oh yeah I saw a person go the wrong way on the round- a -bout
they turned left instead of going around the circle. #wheredopeoplelearntodrive
oh yeah I saw a person go the wrong way on the round- a -bout
they turned left instead of going around the circle. #wheredopeoplelearntodrive
Last edited by RidingMatthew; 02-07-19 at 07:55 AM.
#306
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Melt over the weekend / Monday released a LOT of moisture into the air, then the temps dropped to the 20s/10sF Tuesday and yesterday. So two days of freezing rain/drizzle. Plus, the snow had a chance to melt and drain partly, but the rest re-froze. Minimal ice on the MUPs and main road lanes, but lots of ice in the corners and near the curbs. The studs did their thing. Last night, more freezing rain, that's been accumulating as ice on all the paved surfaces. Some of the car commuters at the office are choosing to telecommute today; I'll prob. take the bus.
This has got to go down as one of the weirdest winters weather-wise in a long time.
This has got to go down as one of the weirdest winters weather-wise in a long time.
#307
Banned
#309
Banned
I should say that I only note that because I ****ed up and drove the wrong way (right side of the road like in the US as I spent 15 years driving there) around a roundabout in the UK recently (a double mini-roundabout), which does have on occasion when my brain goes into relaxed mode and there are no cars around.
Right here in fact:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Te...613!4d-1.09447
Right here in fact:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Te...613!4d-1.09447
#310
Banned
I'm aware of that but your question was open for interpretation and I was reminding you that it could've been someone that learned to drive somewhere. Especially in the RTP area there are shedloads of foreigners due to international pharma/biotech firms offering an easy transition to America.
#312
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Mid-60s here, too. Like @mgw4jc I celebrated this last day of spring-in-February by riding in wearing shorts and short sleeves. Cloudy except for a clear spot over to the west, so I could watch the sun ... well, I could see the sky over there get lighter as the sun came up. As if it weren't warm and humid enough, I was riding against a south wind bring even more warm Gulf moisture up before the cold front comes in tonight -- weather service is predicting a 45 degree drop overnight. (I hope we can skip the tornados that often brings!)
Strangely enough I haven't heard the spring peepers yet. Maybe tonight?
Strangely enough I haven't heard the spring peepers yet. Maybe tonight?
#313
The Fat Guy In The Back
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Kind of a sucky morning. -1F with a 20 mph headwind (-24F wind chill.) About four inches of fresh snow on the ground and still falling. The wind is blowing it everywhere causing complete white-outs at times. And that wonderful layer of ice is still hiding under the snow waiting to take you down when you least expect it.
Our new school superintendent is a lot more liberal about calling snow days than any of the previous ones we've had. He cancelled school today. Unfortunately for the rest of the world life goes on and businesses and offices are open, so I had to go in.
As the snow is still falling, the plows hadn't run anywhere but the main roads. I changed my route thinking that if I ride the plowed roads it would make my life easier. Well, it did make it easier in that I didn't have to ride through as much unplowed snow. It didn't make it easier as now I was sharing the road with every other vehicle who also changed their route so that they didn't have to drive through unplowed snow. Plus this route is a LOT hillier. Add to that that I'm still not feeling that great and I was barely poking up hills while traffic backed up behind me.
After a mile and a half of that I threw in the towel and hit a bus stop. Thankfully the bus came along just a couple minutes after I started waiting. I did have an "uh-oh" moment when the bike rack on the front of the bus wouldn't release to fold down. It had frozen in place. The driver gave me a shrug indicating he didn't know what to do. For a moment I thought I may have to just suck it up and ride the whole way when I have one last-ditch monster tug and the thing broke loose.
I know we're not supposed to talk to the driver while the bus is moving, but he was really intrigued by my bar mitts. He'd never seen those before and was asking me questions about them while we drove.
At the downtown station I pulled the bike off the rack and rode another 1/2 mile to the client location. The downtown roads were in pretty bad shape so I was sliding all over the place and had to ride my granny gear the whole time.
The snow is supposed to quit this morning. I'm hoping they'll have the MUP cleaned off for my ride home tonight. At the least I should have a tail wind.
Our new school superintendent is a lot more liberal about calling snow days than any of the previous ones we've had. He cancelled school today. Unfortunately for the rest of the world life goes on and businesses and offices are open, so I had to go in.
As the snow is still falling, the plows hadn't run anywhere but the main roads. I changed my route thinking that if I ride the plowed roads it would make my life easier. Well, it did make it easier in that I didn't have to ride through as much unplowed snow. It didn't make it easier as now I was sharing the road with every other vehicle who also changed their route so that they didn't have to drive through unplowed snow. Plus this route is a LOT hillier. Add to that that I'm still not feeling that great and I was barely poking up hills while traffic backed up behind me.
After a mile and a half of that I threw in the towel and hit a bus stop. Thankfully the bus came along just a couple minutes after I started waiting. I did have an "uh-oh" moment when the bike rack on the front of the bus wouldn't release to fold down. It had frozen in place. The driver gave me a shrug indicating he didn't know what to do. For a moment I thought I may have to just suck it up and ride the whole way when I have one last-ditch monster tug and the thing broke loose.
I know we're not supposed to talk to the driver while the bus is moving, but he was really intrigued by my bar mitts. He'd never seen those before and was asking me questions about them while we drove.
At the downtown station I pulled the bike off the rack and rode another 1/2 mile to the client location. The downtown roads were in pretty bad shape so I was sliding all over the place and had to ride my granny gear the whole time.
The snow is supposed to quit this morning. I'm hoping they'll have the MUP cleaned off for my ride home tonight. At the least I should have a tail wind.
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#314
Senior Member
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I'm slow, go around
I'm slow, go around
#316
Banned
After living in the UK, they actually make a huge amount of sense as the traffic density is ridiculous in the southeast and they actually work quite well. Also, you're almost never alone when driving, so it's hard to go the wrong way. I do get confused if I happen to be alone with the small ones in parking lots like in google maps above, as there aren't always signs over here (or they're broken off.)
#317
multimodal commuter
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I never under traffic circles/roundabouts when I lived in the US as they're tedious.
After living in the UK, they actually make a huge amount of sense as the traffic density is ridiculous in the southeast and they actually work quite well. Also, you're almost never alone when driving, so it's hard to go the wrong way. I do get confused if I happen to be alone with the small ones in parking lots like in google maps above, as there aren't always signs over here (or they're broken off.)
After living in the UK, they actually make a huge amount of sense as the traffic density is ridiculous in the southeast and they actually work quite well. Also, you're almost never alone when driving, so it's hard to go the wrong way. I do get confused if I happen to be alone with the small ones in parking lots like in google maps above, as there aren't always signs over here (or they're broken off.)
But I digress. My commute today did not involve any traffic circles, just very light rain, which I ignored. It's been warm lately, so the saturated surface of the ground has thawed, leaving a nice squishy layer of mud, but just below that is frozen solid.
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#318
GATC
16F, sunny. Got aggressively honked at by a jerk. That hasn't happened for years and years.
Last edited by HardyWeinberg; 02-07-19 at 10:48 AM.
#319
Virgo
Chilly, damp, and breezy. Gross. My bones were cold by the time I got to work. I'm glad I brought my space heater in and put it under my desk, it's like a little personal fireplace. My boss sets the office thermostat at 68, that's a little on the cool side for me.
#320
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So the ice was every bit as bad as I thought. Freezing rain was still falling this morning, immediately sticking to the existing ice layer. So this was my traction-enhanced commuting option for today:
(Well, this plus a big Gillig bus....)
Freezing rain has continued on and off all day, so I reckon I'll be strapping them on for the walk to/from the bus on the way home.
(My boss just walked by on his way out, playing "Slip-sliding Away" by Paul Simon on his phone....)
(Well, this plus a big Gillig bus....)
Freezing rain has continued on and off all day, so I reckon I'll be strapping them on for the walk to/from the bus on the way home.
(My boss just walked by on his way out, playing "Slip-sliding Away" by Paul Simon on his phone....)
Last edited by madpogue; 02-07-19 at 06:09 PM.
#321
Banned
Good but a little windy. Overall, a very nice ride in. Off to get my beard trimmed in a half hour or so! So, back on the bike!
#322
Senior Member
Had a nice tailwind on the way home yesterday pushing me to a 17.5mph average for my 13 mile commute.
64F again and only needed shorts and short sleeve shirt. And 64 is the forecast high as it is supposed to drop all day. That usually means wind from the north, looking at maybe 14mph strength for a nice headwind on the way home tonight. I'm probably going to wish I had brought a pair of gloves for that ride.
64F again and only needed shorts and short sleeve shirt. And 64 is the forecast high as it is supposed to drop all day. That usually means wind from the north, looking at maybe 14mph strength for a nice headwind on the way home tonight. I'm probably going to wish I had brought a pair of gloves for that ride.
#323
The Fat Guy In The Back
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With this morning's frosty -12F ride it's now officially been three years since the last time I drove to work. 698 consecutive bicycle commutes.
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#324
Senior Member
After being off the bike for two days because of flat tires and heavy rain, back on the bike this morning 6.2 miles of commute + errand running in 22F weather.