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2020! The “How was your commute?” thread!

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2020! The “How was your commute?” thread!

Old 03-04-20, 02:26 PM
  #276  
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My wife and I are now singing in the same ensemble. We had rehearsal last night. The forecast called for light rain, so I wasn't worried. My wife arrived by Citi Bike, I by my own bike. After rehearsal, it was raining very hard and somewhat cold. My wife and I agreed to meet at the Citi Bike station. She had her hood on over her helmet, and I said are you sure? She's not as tough a cyclist as I am. She asked me what I thought. I said don't do it. Visibility was crap. She thought better of it and took the subway home. The rain pelted my face, and it felt like needles. The potholes were filled with water, and I didn't know how deep they were. I was unusually afraid of getting rear ended by a car. I rode to the Hudson River Greenway (which has no cars) and then I was safe, and I took that home. Man, what an adventure! I got home and took my clothes off. The fronts of my pants were wet, and the backs were dry. Weird.

Even though I got wet, it's definitely true that fenders make the experience better. Water sprayed by the bike is so much more uncomfortable.
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Old 03-05-20, 05:28 AM
  #277  
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It was a very pleasant commute in this am with the temp at 37 f degrees and the light hitting the horizon about two miles out from work. What a pretty sight!
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Old 03-05-20, 08:20 AM
  #278  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 909:

37F this morning (a morning above freezing in March! Woohoo!) but a 30 mph headwind with gusts up to 50 mph. So I wound up wearing the same clothes I normally would to ride in the teens as the wind put quite a chill into things. It's not supposed to shift, so I should be able to make it home in record time.

The good news is the night above freezing coupled with the winds really did a number on the remaining ice, so there was noticeably less of it this morning. I'm hoping by next week that all of it is gone. Amazing that more than two month later we're still dealing with the ice from the December 27th storm, but that's South Dakota for you. It just doesn't warm up in the winter long enough to do any significant melting.

After 10 years the battery in the computer on my hybrid bike started to get weak, so I replaced it with a new battery. Wow! Those numbers are now much darker and easier to see. The manual said to expect about 3 years out of a battery, so I don't feel shortchanged in the least.
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Old 03-05-20, 08:22 AM
  #279  
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
Has anybody ever done anything this stupid?
Never... at least not that I'd ever be willing to admit publicly! Bit chilly this morning at 29 - starting to get used to 50's and sunshine, which means we'll have 20's and snow soon!
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Old 03-05-20, 08:58 AM
  #280  
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Rode this morning 45F or so and cloudy today. Calling for rain this afternoon... we shall see
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Old 03-05-20, 10:33 AM
  #281  
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Spring has sprung here in Folsom, early and desperate. There has been no rain in five weeks. February is usually our rainiest month. Miracle March isn’t going to happen either.

I accidentally kicked my fender off, and I strapped it to the handlebars to finish my ride. The little ratchets snapped out of the zip ties.

This bike is still clicking when pedaling, despite replacement of pedals and BB. The cranks came off really easily - wiggled off. They are Powerspline, not square taper. I don't know if they're supposed to be able to do that, and they seem really solid, but it's my only remaining suspect. That's annoying because I'd never have bought a replacement PS BB if the cranks were done for, I'd have bought something nicer.

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Old 03-05-20, 11:50 AM
  #282  
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Originally Posted by madpogue
^^^^ I'm seeing two different spellings (both different from the spelling of the actual fruit), maybe two different bands?
If you're still interested, it turns out I was misremembering the band name completely. It was a review of "We've Been Had Again" by Huffamoose.
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Old 03-06-20, 07:35 AM
  #283  
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Huffamoose - interesting band name.

RidingMatthew - I decided to drive yesterday based on the afternoon forecast. All day long the highest chance of rain was at 5pm. No rain happened until 5pm when it sprinkled for half an hour or so. Ugh, I could have easily ridden.

Rode in this morning with temp below 40 for the first time in a week or so. Felt a bit slow and sluggish, but made it on time.

Happy Friday!
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Old 03-06-20, 09:39 AM
  #284  
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Last night was a great ride. Overcast but the rain had stopped. I managed to hit most of the green lights for the first 10 miles, so my average was over 15 mph until I hit downtown. Whee!

This morning, SUNSHINE! for the first time since last weekend, IIRC. Cool, blowing pretty good (16 mph, gusts to 25), and I felt like a slug. Turn the pedals over. Push. Pull. Can I coast yet? (Hope to recover for the weekend!)
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Old 03-06-20, 02:09 PM
  #285  
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No commute around here since most of us are staying indoors. Today afternoon will go for a quick ride since is raining in the morning == no pollen, and will be dry afternoon.
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Old 03-09-20, 04:24 AM
  #286  
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A very nice commute in this am with the temp at 41 f degrees and dark cloudy skies. The ride home this afternoon with longer daylight should be great as I plan to take an extended ride home.
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Old 03-09-20, 06:26 AM
  #287  
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Nice full moon for the first half of my ride from home to the gym. A bit cold for a couple of parts, namely a downhill getting me up over 20mph for a chin freezing wind chill.
Not sure why the one pickup truck driver had to lay on his horn as he passed me at 6:30am. Good morning!
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Old 03-09-20, 09:00 AM
  #288  
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A bit stiff this morning, so I tried to concentrate on constant light spinning. Did it work? I'm still a bit stiff, so …

Thought I'd have a lot of "dark" this morning, but the sun was officially up when I left, and the clouds parted enough to see it before I made it to work. Success!
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Old 03-09-20, 10:15 AM
  #289  
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50's, rain and strong south wind. The ride home.. 50's(maybe), rain and strong north wind. LOL spring isn't looking too good. The Menards rain suit seems to work pretty good at least.
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Old 03-09-20, 10:31 AM
  #290  
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Brain is still on standard time.

I ended up riding the bus the last half of this morning's commute, as the rain started to intensify.
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Old 03-09-20, 03:54 PM
  #291  
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Last night, my spouse and I rode to rehearsal and back. It was windy, and we had a nice tailwind on the way out. She said the crosswind gusts pushed her hard. She's not a strong rider and is very lightweight. She didn't want to take the river path back, fearing the crosswinds, but I said let's try it. It worked out fine.

Today is a beautiful warm day, and my ride to class was great. Same tailwind in the same direction, so I'll have that headwind going home. I also rode to the dentist and back at midday. I carried less weight back, leaving all my plaque behind.
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Old 03-10-20, 04:32 AM
  #292  
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Today's commute was pleasant with the temp at 47 f degrees, and cloudy skies blocking the full moon. My chain came off the front ring this am while riding up a hill cause I changed into an easier gear while climbing. Anyway I had to stop and put it back on. I was fortunate there was a sign up ahead that had a big light over it. I was able to use that light and the chain went on easy enough.
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Old 03-10-20, 06:43 AM
  #293  
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This morning's 57F was about 20 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. Our full moon was blocked by the clouds too, which also made it seem even darker than the time change has done.
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Old 03-10-20, 07:18 AM
  #294  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 912:

22F this morning, but the humidity was very high so it felt colder. The weather web site said I was supposed to get a slight push from the wind, but the flags were hanging still. I'm not going to complain about no wind, thought.

Pretty dark out due to the time change. My body is still adapting to daylight saving time as well.

First time since early December that my commute was 100% ice free*. There were a few frozen puddles left from yesterday's rain, but I could easily ride around them. It's been a long time since I had dry pavement for the whole ride and didn't have cross any ice anywhere.

*I'm not counting the frost on the bridges. I suppose it's technically ice, but it's less likely to take me down compared to the thicker stuff.

Addendum: this morning, after more than four years working for one of our clients, they asked if I could return the parking pass they issued me back when I originally contracted with them. I guess they need the space for someone else and finally realized I was never going to use it.
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Old 03-10-20, 10:00 AM
  #295  
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Last week I wimped out (twice) because of rain or forecast heavy rain.

Last night was a beautiful night to be riding. A few clouds, but clear, not too chilly. Today? Rain. Small droplets, but lots of them, covering everything on my "dashboard" within a couple blocks, and messing up my glasses. (At least it's sort-of distilled water!) But it was warm enough that it wasn't unpleasant, and I didn't melt.

It'd still be more fun if it was 80 degrees instead of 55.
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Old 03-10-20, 10:58 AM
  #296  
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Not being as robust as some here today is my first commute for the season, and the first commute on the third incarnation of my Raleigh International - this time as an internal-geared upright townie. Even though I've been doing weekend errands on my bike and a couple of longer rides in the 20-25 mile range, I was a bit out of breath with the morning headwinds adding to the small rollers in Central Park. But it sure feels good to ride to work and this may be the earliest start in recent years.

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Old 03-10-20, 07:15 PM
  #297  
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Back on this week, after a brief excursion to the Left Coast

DST is wonderful and amazing. I've been able to take the back way home yesterday and today - something that I will not attempt after dark, due to the combo of narrow roads with no shoulder and some fairly sketchy stretches. In the daylight, it is a much more fulfilling ride than my default route.
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Old 03-11-20, 04:22 AM
  #298  
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A very pleasant commute this am with the temp at 47 f degrees and clear skies and the moon not quite full.
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Old 03-11-20, 05:54 AM
  #299  
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One of those days where I should have checked the radar map first. It started out pleasant but then a tiny, city-size cluster of storms moved through at the same time I did, and drenched me.
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Old 03-11-20, 06:22 AM
  #300  
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I left a little late and had to cut off a little of my normal route. We're closing on the new house at noon today. My wife will pick me up and we'll drive to the law office. It's less than 2 miles away, but she has to drive down anyway and it's a busy road to get there (especially at lunch time) so I'd rather just drive.
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