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2019! The “How was your commute?” thread!

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2019! The “How was your commute?” thread!

Old 06-12-19, 11:16 AM
  #1101  
Wolfhaven
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Finally warm enough to ditch the knee warmers. Was nice. Calm but after a night of rain things were damp and foggy. Glasses kept fogging up. The rain helped get the gravel into better riding condition though. The swan was off the nest again. Hoping to see some little ones.
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Old 06-13-19, 06:53 AM
  #1102  
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I saw a skunk on my morning run today. I wasn't sure what it was at first. Cat? It stopped in the road about 20 yards in front of me and I thought maybe it was an opossum. I crossed to the other side of the road and continued going by. Luckily it decided I was not a thread and had not raised its tail.

A wet ride home yesterday in the rain. It was a little cool too at 64F, but I never got uncomfortable.
Good ride in this morning. Cool but humid.

I saw a Dr. Pepper can on the ground beside a trashcan. That triggered the old commercial jingle in my head for most of the remaining miles.
"I'm a Pepper . He's a Pepper. She's a Pepper. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?"
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Old 06-13-19, 07:13 AM
  #1103  
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Originally Posted by mgw4jc
"I'm a Pepper . He's a Pepper. She's a Pepper. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?"
Well thank you for that earworm.

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Old 06-13-19, 08:22 AM
  #1104  
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After 3 picture perfect days this morning was nasty - 55F, grey, 17mph wind gusts (fortunately headed my way). It felt a lot colder than it was. I'm hoping for an improvement but the forecast shows little change other than higher wind speeds... argh
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Old 06-13-19, 08:58 AM
  #1105  
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^ similar story here in chicago.

52, light rain, with an 18 mph north wind blowing straight into my face for the ride into work this morning. that N wind penalized me an extra 8 minutes.

that's a pretty crappy morning for a bike commute in mid-june. it felt like october or something.
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Old 06-13-19, 10:05 AM
  #1106  
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It's like spring again here. Low 60s, very welcome after a couple weeks in the 90s. I could get used to this!

Yesterday was interesting; south winds (headwind) in the morning brought moisture up from the Gulf, which turned into thunderstorms right after lunch. After the front came through, the winds reversed and I had headwinds both ways. At least the north wind held through this morning. Tailwind!

I need to start nagging city hall over the repaved street on my route. The pavement is lovely, but they've put in bike lanes that aren't so nice. 4.5' lanes in the plan have turned into 2.5' lanes around the storm sewers. Maybe if I yell loudly enough, early enough, they'll get those straight before the final coat of paint goes on.
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Old 06-13-19, 01:07 PM
  #1107  
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Someone fell off his bike while escaping reality. Music sometimes hurts ;-)
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Old 06-13-19, 01:55 PM
  #1108  
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drove yesterday and we got buckets of rain in the afternoon through evening to early AM. i think it stopped around 3am Severe flooding warnings. I rode this morning and only found a few rain drops and 56F in JUNE! seems crazy it did feel like October or something @steely_dan
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Old 06-14-19, 06:24 AM
  #1109  
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Two things I saw yesterday morning that I forgot to mention. A guy walking a great dane. The dog's head was as high as my handlebars!
In another neighborhood I saw a pick-up truck parked with decals / paint advertising it's lawn care business.
It clearly said, "Weed Man."
Hilarious.

On yesterday's ride home a guy caught up to me and we took turns pulling for the next 3 or 4 miles. This made me go much faster than normal, but it was fun.

Beautiful morning today. Sunny and 60F. Could've ridden many more miles.
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Old 06-14-19, 06:28 AM
  #1110  
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A little cold but a nice ride this morning. I've started to use a slightly different route which takes me on the newly designed Midtown MUP. The section I'm on is designated for bikes only, the red bricks to the right are designated for cars. To my left there is a pedestrian path along where the wooden benches are. I only take this route in the morning because the evening is a lot more congested and people are still confused on what is what. The whole trail is not fully completed so once completed it should start to get better. This area is becoming the popular place to be with the addition of Sun King Brewery and a few other restaurants and shops. The trail has always been there, this is just a redesigned portion of the trail.
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Old 06-14-19, 07:05 AM
  #1111  
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20mph head wind going uphill this morning.

My legs are dead right now....but when they recover I think I'll be able to kick down large trees.

I just hope the wind holds up for the ride home...going downhill. I'll get home before I leave the office!
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Old 06-14-19, 07:42 AM
  #1112  
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan
^ similar story here in chicago.

52, light rain, with an 18 mph north wind blowing straight into my face for the ride into work this morning. that N wind penalized me an extra 8 minutes.

that's a pretty crappy morning for a bike commute in mid-june. it felt like october or something.
My route home is north and I just couldn't bear riding into 18-20mph winds yesterday... I took the bus home! This morning it was 47F when I left (yeah that's a "4") but the sun's back and winds are light. All's right with the world again.

There was a group of hand-crank trikes at a street crossing this morning. It's impressive to see folks who ride without the use of their legs.
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Old 06-14-19, 08:57 AM
  #1113  
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Supposedly down into the lower 50s this morning, so I dug out my heavy wool (but still short sleeve!) jersey. Didn't need it, as it was warming quickly. Nice riding with just a breeze instead of a gale. While I like my job, if I hadn't committed to working today I'd be 15 miles west of here. Or 30 miles north. It's just beautiful cycling weather!

Originally Posted by Skipjacks
20mph head wind going uphill this morning.

My legs are dead right now....but when they recover I think I'll be able to kick down large trees.
It might take a day or two to recover!

OT Story: 10 years ago we were touring in northern Montana, and got to talking with a logging trucker. He told us his brother hated cyclists, and would like to kick our ass if he were there. I smiled, and told him, "He could probably do it, unless he slipped and fell down. Then these legs that bicycled 3,000 miles to get here would work HIM over." Our trucker got a thoughtful look on his face, grinned, and we parted amicably. (He gave us a cheerful toot towards the end of the day as he was going home.)
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Old 06-14-19, 03:39 PM
  #1114  
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Had to wear a suit to work this morning (not typical for me these days), and rode the first block before I realized that my pant leg (it's an older suit, so a little baggier than current style) was at serious risk of getting chain muck all over it. Quickly tucked it into my sock like a dork, and everything was find after that.

Originally Posted by beachball42
...The section I'm on is designated for bikes only, the red bricks to the right are designated for cars...the evening is a lot more congested and people are still confused on what is what.
They just did something similar in a small section of my neighborhood, and people seem to have no clue that it's not ideal for them to walk in the bike lane. There is a bicycle painted like every 50 yards, and it is only separated from the regular sidewalk by a couple of feet of grass, but I'll be damned if they wouldn't prefer to walk side by side in the bike path. Ghostrider is getting temped to do a flyby or two...

Originally Posted by Skipjacks
I just hope the wind holds up for the ride home...going downhill. I'll get home before I leave the office!
88 miles per hour!
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Old 06-17-19, 05:02 AM
  #1115  
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Well here we are and it is another Monday. It was a very pleasant commute to work this am with the temp in the mid 60's f.
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Old 06-17-19, 06:40 AM
  #1116  
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Warmest morning in a good while, possibly this year, at 73F. Humid too, but not horribly so. A nice breeze kept me cool and kept me slower than normal. No worries though.
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Old 06-17-19, 08:55 AM
  #1117  
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Warm (for Edmonton) and calm. Gonna be wet the rest of the week.
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Old 06-17-19, 09:20 AM
  #1118  
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Overcast and cool again this morning. So cool, I started wondering if I would see the kids lined up waiting for the school bus today. Then I realized I was too early. Took a few more pedal strokes to realize school let out last month. Whether that diversion was a result of the weather, or a result of getting up too early, I can't say.
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Old 06-17-19, 12:36 PM
  #1119  
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Only the second or third morning I ride only with a t-shirt.nice and sunny.
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Old 06-17-19, 02:38 PM
  #1120  
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Originally Posted by dramiscram
I ride only with a t-shirt.
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Old 06-17-19, 02:47 PM
  #1121  
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SWMBO had a dr appointment in the morning so I took the trike in once the nanny arrived. Feeling ok-not-great, it's warm but not brutal. Nothing noteworthy except the number of people using the SRA on a non-holiday midday. Lots of SUP-ers
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Old 06-18-19, 06:58 AM
  #1122  
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Heavy rain and thunderstorms woke me up a couple of times early this morning. It cleared out around 3:30am, so the ride in was fine, but humid.

Traffic while schools are out for summer is much nicer.
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Old 06-18-19, 07:23 AM
  #1123  
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Light shower came in between breakfast and the start of the commute, but (since it didn't cover my glasses) it was free sweat, a nice respite. Cleared up mid-commute, so I thought I'd add a few more miles. As you might guess, if you're a regular bike commuter, that made it rain before I got to the office.

I think the last rain we had was Thursday night, so it's not been that long. Still, riding down a back road, I got the feeling that the lawns and fields were taking a relieved breath to get a bit of moisture.
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Old 06-18-19, 12:07 PM
  #1124  
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Got a flat on my way home last night... first one since I've started a new job in new office with new commute about 9 months ago, probably even a couple years before that. Happened in a nice shady spot. Finding the offending shard of metal inside the tire took longer than I expected, but changing the tube was fast and the CO2 inflator worked perfectly. Hands got a bit dirty. And then I re-loaded my flat-fixing pack when I got home. I think I might add a tweezer to my kit for those tiny pieces of wire and such.
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Old 06-18-19, 01:05 PM
  #1125  
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I actually got passed by another tadpole trike rider this morning. I wasn't feeling good, waved him around. He was feeling his oats and had a lower and quicker-looking trike. Friendly, though. As he passed he made an inside joke about how trikes are slow...

It was already warm at 8, forecast breaks 100 in the late afternoon.
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