Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

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

Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

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

Old 10-22-19, 08:45 AM
  #1626  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,826

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2568 Post(s)
Liked 1,889 Times in 1,185 Posts
I decided to ride home last night, even though it was raining, because it was supposed to clear up this morning. And it did! The payoff was wet roads, but clear skies, bright sunlight, and the MUP only had a few extra leaves on it this morning. I'm so glad I got to ride in today.

I guess I'm going to have to start packing a jacket for the rain rides, though. Kind of chilly at 60F.
pdlamb is offline  
Old 10-22-19, 11:08 AM
  #1627  
liampboyle
Senior Member
 
liampboyle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Louisville, Ky US
Posts: 185

Bikes: 2007 Kona Caldera

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 42 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Morning Commute 10/22/19 53F, wind 7 mph - Roads were still a bit damp from the rain last night, but at 53 it was still warm enough to do the shorts an t-shirt thing. My chain hasn't been slipping as much so I think just giving it a decent cleaning was all it needed. No traffic incidents to note on the ride in thankfully, just too many drivers in too much of a rush, but, at least they weren't bothering me.
liampboyle is offline  
Old 10-22-19, 06:03 PM
  #1628  
Darth Lefty 
Disco Infiltrator
 
Darth Lefty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Folsom CA
Posts: 13,775

Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem

Mentioned: 72 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3124 Post(s)
Liked 2,101 Times in 1,366 Posts

Today was my first day back on the bike since last weeks work travel.

This afternoon I downed a big Diet Coke, and the combination of caffeine hit and blood pressure pressure medicine has me seeing spots. So I took off a bit early. I’m still seeing spots, but at least they’re not in front of my computer screen
Darth Lefty is offline  
Old 10-23-19, 05:11 AM
  #1629  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1907 Post(s)
Liked 572 Times in 338 Posts
Nice ride in this morning, waning moon in the sky in front of me, not too cold. Saw something unusual: another guy on a bike, looked like a commuter. That happens about once a year.
__________________
www.rhmsaddles.com.
rhm is offline  
Old 10-23-19, 06:55 AM
  #1630  
Falkon 
No Talent Assclown
 
Falkon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Southern US :(
Posts: 1,319

Bikes: 1984 Ciocc Designer '84, Custom Columbus EL Keith Anderson -- Ultegra/DA 10sp mix, 2019 Trek Checkpoint AL All-arounder

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 87 Post(s)
Liked 27 Times in 23 Posts
40-something degrees (F) starts to get weird. I'm really cold starting out, then warm up (duh). It was too cold for just a wicking t-shirt/jersey this morning. I selected the insulated softshell jacket. That blocked the wind well but I started sweating and opening up pit zippers and cuffs about halfway through. The hills still suck, and I still hate feeling slow climbing 'em, especially with traffic. I'm getting some power back with more riding. Overall, a decent ride.
__________________
Fällt der Pfarrer in den Mist, lacht der Bauer bis er pisst.
Falkon is offline  
Old 10-23-19, 07:22 AM
  #1631  
liampboyle
Senior Member
 
liampboyle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Louisville, Ky US
Posts: 185

Bikes: 2007 Kona Caldera

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 42 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Evening Commute 10/22/19 - 62°F

Morning Commute - 10/23/19 37°F

Ended up with a flat rear tire last night, but I was only about a mile from home so I just walked the bike back rather than repair on road. This morning was pretty crisp and clear which made for a nice commute, just cold enough to bust out the jacket and MTB pants, but still warm enough I had to go slow and easy to avoid getting overly sweaty.

Last edited by liampboyle; 10-25-19 at 05:36 PM.
liampboyle is offline  
Old 10-23-19, 08:34 AM
  #1632  
mgw4jc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)
Posts: 2,306

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 255 Post(s)
Liked 22 Times in 18 Posts
Cool, clear morning and quite dark at 7am when I left for work. I like to think that my flashing lights make me more visible - or at least seen sooner - when it's dark than during the day.

I wore my neon green jacket and when I was walking into the office, a coworker said, "You look like a highlighter!" Ha ha! Another guy who rides or used to or something said, "It's good to be visible when biking."
mgw4jc is offline  
Old 10-23-19, 09:45 AM
  #1633  
cabledawg
Full Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 212
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Liked 33 Times in 20 Posts
First ride of 2019 (well kinda). Cool, dry, 48 deg when I left the house. Did 11.8 miles in about 58 minutes but that's including a stop at the gas station for Gatorade and a banana. Only used the electric assist a few times, mostly for getting going at the few intersections I come across and once near the end when I was just feeling a little lazy. But the bike weighs around 60 lbs itself and I had my day bag, gym bag and lunchbox on my bike too so not too bad. Ride home should be interesting though since I cant take the same path due to increased traffic on a narrow roadway. All the lights did a good job of letting me see ahead of me as well as staying visible to the auto traffic.

I'll start out with three times a week while the weather is good. After winter, I plan to ride all five work days each week, every week. I figured I have all this money tied up in my bike, so why not use it
cabledawg is offline  
Old 10-23-19, 03:30 PM
  #1634  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,639

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 507 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7251 Post(s)
Liked 2,321 Times in 1,356 Posts
I had a part-time job, and then I got laid off. Again no job to commute to, but I'm loving being back at college and the fact that I commute by bike. Yesterday I kinda-sorta got lucky. There was a lot of rain in the forecast. It didn't rain on the ride to my first appointment of the day. It rained while I was there, and it stopped by the time I had to leave. I got to college dry. Then I rode to my evening rehearsal and didn't get wet. Rehearsal was done at 10pm, and it was raining. Very soon, the rain became heavy. I couldn't see very well. I realized I was better off taking my glasses off. My prescription is very mild, and I do fine without glasses, but I attach my mirror to my glasses, so that left me mirrorless. Not a disaster, especially since most of my route is on the bike path along the river with no motor traffic. I got pretty wet, but I didn't get cold. I actually like toughening up to all these weather conditions. I'm not sure what my limit will be this winter, but I suspect I will be tougher this year than in other years.

Has anyone solved the rain-on-the-glasses problem? I'd really like a solution even though I'm lucky enough to have decent eyesight. Does a baseball cap with a long visor help? I normally wear a cycling cap under my helmet.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 10-24-19, 05:05 AM
  #1635  
essiemyra
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Merrimac , MA
Posts: 1,356
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 76 Post(s)
Liked 115 Times in 79 Posts
A very nice commute in this am with the temp at 42 f degrees. The skies were dark and cloudless skies, but the sliver of moon was in front of me during my ride so I enjoyed that sight.
essiemyra is offline  
Old 10-24-19, 06:26 AM
  #1636  
mgw4jc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)
Posts: 2,306

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 255 Post(s)
Liked 22 Times in 18 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
Has anyone solved the rain-on-the-glasses problem? I'd really like a solution even though I'm lucky enough to have decent eyesight. Does a baseball cap with a long visor help? I normally wear a cycling cap under my helmet.
I can't say I have it solved, but having a visor on my helmet definitely helps. I don't think it is the 'in' thing these days to have a helmet visor, but I like it for low angle sun and for keeping rain out of my face.

First morning below 40F here this season. I have two pairs of these Adidas track pants that are tapered at the ankle and fit tight around the calves. While walking the dog in one of them last night, I realized they might make decent cycling pants because they would not get into the chain or flap around my ankle while riding.

And thus this morning I gave them a try in the colder temps. They worked great, except for when I was coasting down a hill the looser fabric around my thigh was flapping in the wind a bit. Very minor as it did not do that while pedaling. My only concern about wearing these pants often during the winter is I'll wear them out. They are in no way meant to be cycling pants.
mgw4jc is offline  
Old 10-24-19, 07:19 AM
  #1637  
Tundra_Man 
The Fat Guy In The Back
 
Tundra_Man's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 2,524

Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk

Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 319 Post(s)
Liked 161 Times in 108 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
Has anyone solved the rain-on-the-glasses problem? I'd really like a solution even though I'm lucky enough to have decent eyesight. Does a baseball cap with a long visor help? I normally wear a cycling cap under my helmet.
After all these years of commuting, the solution to heavy rain on glasses still eludes me. That and goggles icing over below -5F.
__________________
Visit me at the Tundra Man Workshop
Tundra_Man is offline  
Old 10-24-19, 08:02 AM
  #1638  
RidingMatthew
Let's Ride!
 
RidingMatthew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Triad, NC USA
Posts: 2,569

Bikes: --2010 Jamis 650b1-- 2016 Cervelo R2-- 2018 Salsa Journeyman 650B

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 327 Post(s)
Liked 37 Times in 24 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
IHas anyone solved the rain-on-the-glasses problem? I'd really like a solution even though I'm lucky enough to have decent eyesight. Does a baseball cap with a long visor help? I normally wear a cycling cap under my helmet.
Sorry to hear about the lay off Tom. I have not found the solution either. I like a cycling cap when it is raining. My helmet does not have a visor. I have not taken glasses off except in strong rain. I do have Oakleys with the lenses that can come out. So technically I could pop out the lenses and keep the frame with the mirror attached.

First commute for me since unPAved on Oct 13 almost 90 miles of gravel with 6394 feet of climbing. I got a bit of a cold but last night was first night without medicine and slept well. It felt so good to ride even if i saw 35F on my Garmin when i could see it. It was DARK this AM commute.
RidingMatthew is offline  
Old 10-24-19, 08:41 AM
  #1639  
Tundra_Man 
The Fat Guy In The Back
 
Tundra_Man's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 2,524

Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk

Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 319 Post(s)
Liked 161 Times in 108 Posts
Consecutive bicycle work commute number 829:

29F and a light wind. That's the 2nd coldest morning we've had so far this fall. Lots of frost on the streets and cars. I don't think we've had a morning above 45F in the last two weeks, so the weather is definitely shifting.

Took the road bike. It was very dark when I left the house, and stayed dark enough to leave my light on the whole 8 miles to the office. That's also a first for the season, as up until today somewhere in the 2nd half of the commute it becomes bright enough to switch my headlight over to flashing mode. Not today.

Cut through a closed road. There was only about 50 yards where they were actually doing construction, and that was over on the right side. I moved over to the left and wasn't in anyone's way. The detour would have taken me 1/2 mile out of my way and down a very major artery, so I decided I'd risk getting yelled at. Nobody did.

Surprisingly, I met probably a half dozen other cyclists riding the opposite way on the MUP, so I wasn't the only one out in the cold and dark.
__________________
Visit me at the Tundra Man Workshop
Tundra_Man is offline  
Old 10-25-19, 06:28 AM
  #1640  
mgw4jc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)
Posts: 2,306

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 255 Post(s)
Liked 22 Times in 18 Posts
Back up to near 50 for this morning's ride. A nice sunrise, but nothing I could get a decent picture of. Lots of leaves to crunch on the MUP and neighborhood roads.

Happy that it's Friday. It seems rare that I actually work and ride all 5 days of a week. Either a holiday or other reason that I take off one day, or for one reason or another I drive one day or get picked up after work.
mgw4jc is offline  
Old 10-25-19, 07:18 AM
  #1641  
arsprod 
Senior Member
 
arsprod's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 2,043

Bikes: Fairdale Weekender Drop, Motobecane 29LTD, Cannondale H400, Basso Coral

Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 183 Post(s)
Liked 17 Times in 14 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
Has anyone solved the rain-on-the-glasses problem? I'd really like a solution even though I'm lucky enough to have decent eyesight. Does a baseball cap with a long visor help? I normally wear a cycling cap under my helmet.
No solution here either but something I learned from motorcycle riding was having gloves with some surface that can wipe the lenses. For instance my Gore gloves have terry cloth on the inside of the forefinger and thumb and this works well for wiping.

46F this morning with little wind. Finally getting some color in the leaves - nice!
__________________
I'm slow, go around
arsprod is offline  
Old 10-25-19, 07:22 AM
  #1642  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,826

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2568 Post(s)
Liked 1,889 Times in 1,185 Posts
Made a game-time decision (on the way out the door) to take the rain bike. The heavy mist only lasted a few miles, and then I got a break the rest of the way in. 15 degrees warmer at 54F, so I got a break for one more day before I really have to unpack the winter gear.

I was surprised at how heavy traffic was on a Friday. It may just be getting rolling half an hour earlier than usual (to try to beat the rain) put me in heavier traffic, or everyone else had the same idea, or... Who knows why traffic doubles or triples on a given, apparently random, day?
pdlamb is offline  
Old 10-25-19, 12:13 PM
  #1643  
Darth Lefty 
Disco Infiltrator
 
Darth Lefty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Folsom CA
Posts: 13,775

Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem

Mentioned: 72 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3124 Post(s)
Liked 2,101 Times in 1,366 Posts
The MUP-parallel dog walking / MTB trails have been crowded (relatively speaking) in the afternoon. The weather is nice. I presume they'll disappear with the time change. I had a close call with an opposing bike. Or rather I did fine, slowing and pulling to the side, but the other guy had a close call taking his half out of the middle and skidding a bit. There was also a lady talking on her phone walking over the most-fun section of whoops, which was only irritating. About halfway through my ride I started feeling a bit shaky and adjourned to the paved MUP for the last bit home. Don't know what that was.

I've switched to Ride With GPS app on my phone, but I linked it to Strava. I guess it's no longer going to distinguish my commutes but I don't think I'm missing anything else.
__________________
Genesis 49:16-17
Darth Lefty is offline  
Old 10-25-19, 05:52 PM
  #1644  
liampboyle
Senior Member
 
liampboyle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Louisville, Ky US
Posts: 185

Bikes: 2007 Kona Caldera

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 42 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Evening Commute - 10/23/19 - 63°F

Morning Commute - 10/24/19 43°F

Evening Commute - 10/24/19 this got broken into two parts since my son had an orchestra concert, first was an 8 mile run from work my kiddo's school and then a 5.8 mile run back from his school to home. Temps 63-58°F

Morning Commute - 10/25/19 51°F heavy overcast so I was running my head light on solid mode for most of the run.

Evening Commute - 10/25/19 58°F still pretty cloudy, we're expect rain overnight and all through tomorrow.
liampboyle is offline  
Old 10-25-19, 09:27 PM
  #1645  
AD-SLE
Junior Member
 
AD-SLE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Hopkinton, NH
Posts: 128

Bikes: Too many.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
New commute in Wisconsin

Well, I have been away from the commute scene for 10+ years. But, this new assignment has me in Wisconsin and I got an apartment just 15 miles south of the shop and 90% of the ride is on a MUP. That is pretty darn awesome. I am sure many would love such an arrangement. Getting back into commuting when it is 26F is not too bright but I figure I needed to start now or it would NEVER happen. After a few weekend rides (we're open 7 days/week) I took the plunge and did a weekday ride, two in fact, Thur and Friday. Hard in the cold but nice to be car free for two days. 137 car avoidance miles for October. Tiny but a start. Now I need to find a good post on the best cold weather gear. If you guys know of the best thread for such, your guidance appreciated.
26F on Friday....but 46F on the way home!

Last edited by AD-SLE; 10-26-19 at 12:29 AM. Reason: Getting current with lingo
AD-SLE is offline  
Old 10-28-19, 04:47 AM
  #1646  
essiemyra
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Merrimac , MA
Posts: 1,356
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 76 Post(s)
Liked 115 Times in 79 Posts
It was a pleasant commute in this morning even though there was a very light mist and the temp was 54 f degrees. So it was warm out.
essiemyra is offline  
Old 10-28-19, 06:29 AM
  #1647  
liampboyle
Senior Member
 
liampboyle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Louisville, Ky US
Posts: 185

Bikes: 2007 Kona Caldera

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 42 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Morning Commute - 10/28/19 42°F took is slow this morning. Forgot to charge my headlight over the weekend, so it started telling me charge was running out about 10 minutes into the ride. Fortunately, I have app 30 minutes on high from when the light tells me it needs charged to it going out, which is more than enough to make it to work.
liampboyle is offline  
Old 10-28-19, 08:10 AM
  #1648  
mgw4jc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)
Posts: 2,306

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 255 Post(s)
Liked 22 Times in 18 Posts
A nice Monday morning ride. I was about 5 minutes late to work because I didn't feel like taking short cuts despite having left late from home. No biggie.

I have this Wednesday off work for my daughter's 16th birthday. She doesn't have a permit yet, but will get it in the next couple of weeks. Aaaah!
mgw4jc is offline  
Old 10-28-19, 09:51 AM
  #1649  
RidingMatthew
Let's Ride!
 
RidingMatthew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Triad, NC USA
Posts: 2,569

Bikes: --2010 Jamis 650b1-- 2016 Cervelo R2-- 2018 Salsa Journeyman 650B

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 327 Post(s)
Liked 37 Times in 24 Posts
nice ride in this AM. I hope to make my goal for mileage for October this week. I should be able to commute 4 or more days this week with a mtn bike ride thrown in for fun. It could be tough but I am feeling optimistic.
I am counting down to my mileage goal for 2019. 5000 miles. depending on weather and life I should be able to make it.
RidingMatthew is offline  
Old 10-28-19, 09:51 AM
  #1650  
Darth Lefty 
Disco Infiltrator
 
Darth Lefty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Folsom CA
Posts: 13,775

Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem

Mentioned: 72 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3124 Post(s)
Liked 2,101 Times in 1,366 Posts
Got up at 7:17 instead of 6-something... I turned off my alarm on Weds night because there was nothing scheduled early at work the rest of the week, and forgot to turn it back on again. Dropped a few balls on the way out the door... no brekky, didn't put laundry in dryer, front tire low. But got the kids up and fed and made it to the 8:30 meeting. I'm off to the cafeteria
__________________
Genesis 49:16-17
Darth Lefty is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.