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

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

Old 09-26-19, 04:45 AM
  #1526  
essiemyra
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Another pleasant commute this am with the temp at 50 f degrees and clear skies. Typically the moon is on my right side but this morning it was in front of me and I took the same route.

Best part of the day is its my Friday!
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Old 09-26-19, 07:50 AM
  #1527  
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Nice looking machine, @Tundra_Man. I would think you'd sound like a monster truck coming through with those tires! And good job on the purchase deal.

Another nice, fall morning here. We are still getting up to the 90s in the afternoons, but it seems to start cooling off for my ride home. I definitely have more shade on my route than I did in July/August.

This week may just be the first in a while that I have ridden all 10 commutes the full distance. Either holidays, days off, or wife pick-ups/meet half-way have kept me from doing so. I'm currently on track to break 140 miles for the week. I've only managed that a handful of times this year.
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Old 09-26-19, 07:56 AM
  #1528  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 810:

Backing up one 1/2 day, my commute home last night on the new fat bike reinforced my need for a fender solution. I rode through some mud where the flooding had recently receded. The bike handled it with aplomb, not sliding or spinning. However, those big knobby tires threw mud everywhere. Even though the muddy patch was only about 20 feet long, my brand new bike was peppered with chunks of dirt and even worse, I was covered all over with brown spots the size of a dime. I definitely don't want to be constantly sprayed with slushy snow this coming winter.

Today I have to ride about 20 miles total, so I was back on the road bike. The morning was chilly, 47F with 98% humidity and a decent wind. I threw a sweatshirt on and wore a headband to cover my ears. I was still in shorts, though. I'll ride shorts down to about 30-35 degrees. My legs were a little chilly this morning, but my body will quickly acclimate so in a month 47F with shorts will feel pretty warm.

Supposed to have 30-35 mph headwinds for the ride home this afternoon. Yay.
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Old 09-26-19, 09:53 AM
  #1529  
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@Tundra_Man I got a Mudhugger for the rear and a Mucky Nutz Full Face for the fork. I got 29er versions for my plus bike. They have fat bike versions too. They keep the spray off the body but they don't direct everything to the ground like road bike fenders. Cuffs, boots, and drivetrain are still vulnerable. Portland Design Works sells a huge downtube mudguard and it would be a lot better than the Amazon cheapie I got, it was clearly meant for little old 26ers.
https://ridepdw.com/collections/mountain-and-fat-biking

I only need them for a few muddy months and a few rainy days here, not sure if that's solution enough for you.
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Old 09-26-19, 04:07 PM
  #1530  
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Originally Posted by no motor?
Nothing like a double digit headwind to say welcome to Monday, but a nice ride otherwise.
Apparently this also works for Thursday.
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Old 09-27-19, 07:09 AM
  #1531  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 811:

Last night on the way home from work I had a school bus do a total jerk move. I was buzzing down a hill moving at a decent pace. Suddenly I hear an engine roar and look in my mirror to see a school bus gunning its engine and pulling out to pass. As soon as the bus got ahead of me by a few yards the driver pulled back into the lane, jammed on the brakes to come to a stop and put the red flashers on to let a student out. There was no practical reason for him to do that, so I can only assume the bus driver did it on purpose.

This morning was pretty nice. 60 degrees, but the humidity was lower so it felt pretty decent. It was somewhat overcast and I had a 12 mph headwind, but overall the commute was pleasant. The section of the MUP I use to get downtown is finally all above water, so that makes the ride much more fun.
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Old 09-27-19, 08:14 AM
  #1532  
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I decided to sleep in a bit and come in late to work today. Probably not the best day to do so as another guy in my department was out for the day and our supervisor was also coming in late. That left one guy alone for the start of the day. But all was well anyway. No fires to put out first thing.

I also stopped to snap this photo on my way in. I've been wanting to do so for a while, but just hadn't taken the moment. Since I left later than normal, the sun was lighting it up better too. On Instagram, I captioned this with, "This happy tractor greets me every morning on my bike commute."
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Old 09-27-19, 08:45 AM
  #1533  
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As it's Friday, I decided to take a bit longer route in since I'll have to take the car home for the weekend. Naturally, this was the day the guy I run into and ride with once a month or so saw me at the red light, almost caught up to me and hollered, "Where are you going??" I called back, "Going another way!" and he broke off to do our normal route.

Nice ride, not too cool and not too warm. Traffic was lighter than usual, a benefit of taking the busier route on a Friday.
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Old 09-30-19, 04:45 AM
  #1534  
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Welcome back for Monday, it was a pleasant yet cool commute with the temp at 45 f degrees and clear starry skies. The road work crew left the road down to gravel on Friday for a stretch of the road. That part was not so pleasant but I am sure by the end of the week that stretch of road will be smooth pavement.
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Old 09-30-19, 07:11 AM
  #1535  
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A nice Monday morning ride here. Still quite warm and highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s this week. Too hot for this time of year. And I don't think we got any measurable rain the entire month of September. It's overcast now, but only a 20% chance of rain.
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Old 09-30-19, 07:44 AM
  #1536  
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Bicycle Repair Man (see also Python, Monte, youtube) needed to make an appearance yesterday, and didn't get finished until well after dark. (Off topic, I wish BRM would spend a rainy Saturday fixing everything pro-actively, and not wait until something breaks, but since we've had little rain, I'm having more fun riding than mucking about in a hot garage with lots of mosquitos doing all the preventative maintenance I know I should do.) Anyhow, the result was that the sun was just coming over the ridge to the east after the last tuning was finished. Looking back that way at the cross streets there was golden light in morning haze, reminiscent of alpenglow. I'd never have noticed that if I drove the car to work.

Warmer than last week, upper 70s already. I'd really welcome a cold front with a day of rain sometime soon.
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Old 09-30-19, 11:15 AM
  #1537  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 812:

While the last few mornings were in the 40s, today I woke up to find the temp at 75F with extremely high humidity. In fact, the humidity was so high that the streets were all wet despite there being a clear sky with stars visible. It made the city look like a Miami Vice episode from the 80s.

I rode the new fat bike again today, just because I wanted to. The fat bike is a different mentality. You definitely don't want to ride it if you're in a hurry. 10-11mph is about what I averaged despite a 20 mph tail wind. You just plod along knowing that you're not going fast, yet nothing is going to slow you down either.
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Old 09-30-19, 03:54 PM
  #1538  
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Semi-related... newspaper has an article about expensive gas and they post a photo of a bike commuter under the headline.
And I think I know that guy.
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Old 09-30-19, 04:03 PM
  #1539  
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Watching the clock. I've been doing longer rides home when time allows and it's going to stop with DST, so the next five weeks is when I run up the mileage.
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Old 10-01-19, 06:36 AM
  #1540  
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I got the Journeyman worked on the other day. I had a good week of commuting but this week the bike has shifted terribly. It has shifted the chain off the outside of the crankset twice on the ride. it has also jumped on the rear cassette. I am not sure if the cassette is worn out. this is the second chain on the bike. I am tempted to put the new cassette i have waiting to give me a better ride. I am not sure if it is an adjustment issue or the piece is worn out.
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Old 10-01-19, 06:52 AM
  #1541  
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Originally Posted by DiabloScott
Semi-related... newspaper has an article about expensive gas and they post a photo of a bike commuter under the headline.
And I think I know that guy.
Next time you see him, recommend a bike helmet. Our gas prices are down a bit from the summer high. Around $2.40/gal right now. They had been under 2.30 until the drone attack in Saudi.

A decent ride in this morning. A bit overcast, but it will probably clear up soon. I saw several runners and a couple of bikers on my way home yesterday. And then 2 more bikers this morning. Much more than normal.
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Old 10-01-19, 07:20 AM
  #1542  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 813:

Yesterday was sunny, hot and muggy, pushing nearly 90 degrees. Today is the opposite. High today is going to be in the low 50s. Rode through rain and wind to get to work this morning. First day I've worn my windbreaker since before my surgery in April.

Headlamp low battery warning came on about 1/4 mile from home. Thankfully it some how held on the entire eight miles to the office where I could put it on the charger. It probably won't reach full charge before I ride to a client's office over lunch, but it should be pretty close.
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Old 10-01-19, 07:51 AM
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October! We made it!
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Old 10-02-19, 06:53 AM
  #1544  
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No wind perfect temp but was carrying a hammer drill.. heavy. Another run in this morning. You can't bring the bike through here your messing up the carpet. LOL what? This a hospital and the carpet already looks terrible, my tires are cleaner than most feet. Going to be interesting tomorrow since I can control the door between the two, sorry your docs can't go through their feet are too dirty.
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Old 10-02-19, 07:14 AM
  #1545  
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
October! We made it!
More like - HOTober! Highs in the mid-90s again today and tomorrow. I believe fall weather is coming Saturday though.

A decent ride in this morning, but no other bikers out after seeing several the past couple of days.
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Old 10-02-19, 09:41 AM
  #1546  
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A series of small adventures to start my day.
First, when I opened the garage door to get my bike, a bird flew in, so I had to chase him out.
Then, when I was a few blocks from home, my phone started ringing, which is weird because I usually keep my ringer off. I first thought, ignore it, if it's important, they'll leave a message. Then I thought, what if it is important? My mind went over several possibilities as to why someone would phone my mobile at 8:00 am, when it suddenly dawned on me. I forgot my lunch at home. Checked the phone, sure enough, texts and a missed call from my wife. So I turned around and rode back.
Then, on the way back home, as I was about to make a right turn, a school bus coming towards me made a left turn right into the space I was intending to occupy. It wasn't exactly a close call, but I had to jam on my brakes, and she should've waited, and I got pretty mad and started yelling. The driver sped away (can't blame her...a crazy "biker" screaming at her when she has little kids on the bus? I'm not proud of myself.) In the heat of the moment, I tried chasing her to see if I could get enough info to make a report, but I couldn't catch up.
Anyway, I got my lunch and rode to work, and apart from a couple of white SUVs cutting me off, the rest of the trip was uneventful. The stupid thing was that, in chasing the bus, I think I overdid it a bit, and I actually had to ease up on the ride to work because I felt a bit wheezy. I thought I was in better shape than that.
Oh, and it was just around the freezing mark for the ride in, maybe a bit below freezing in fact. Brr.
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Old 10-02-19, 05:11 PM
  #1547  
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Hot here too, and a headwind on the way home. I liked the headwind, because it kept me relatively cool. Better than that, though, the headwind blew away the gnats. I got covered with gnats yesterday and the day before. Pretty nasty.
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Old 10-03-19, 06:59 AM
  #1548  
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Twice this week I saw another biker leaving my neighborhood. I was out walking the dog and saw him go by all lit up like he should be. I'm guessing a commuter. Maybe I'll see him sometime when I can ask about his route.

Just a fine ride in this morning. I left home about 10 minutes late, but was only about 5 minutes late to work. Must have made up a bit of time.
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Old 10-03-19, 07:08 AM
  #1549  
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There was a flat on my road bike this morning - I'd rolled it all the way out the door before I noticed. Had to roll it back in and transfer my bag to the commuter bike trunk. All while dodging "wildcat" that was following me in and out. Some days are just an ordeal.
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Old 10-03-19, 07:14 AM
  #1550  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 815:

Chilly morning again at 43F, with a 15 mph head wind. After a few colder mornings I noticed I already wasn't as uncomfortable as I was on Tuesday even though I'm still wearing shorts. Hopefully that means I'll acclimate quickly this year.

Truckers are staging a protest in town today by grouping together and driving slow to hold up traffic. Thankfully they weren't on the MUP so I was unaffected.
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