pdlamb

Pretty good ride home last night. I took the long way home, and was surprised at how many houses have started the annual electricity consumption project -- I mean put up holiday decorations. A few of them looked nice!


Nice morning's ride this morning. A bit warmer since I had to hang out clean bike clothes to dry and so I left later.

reidconti

Getting a bit cold in the SF Bay Area. Mid-40s overnight which means when I start out with shorts+tights and a sweatshirt and long finger gloves, it can be a bit too chilly in the shade.

Got a 2nd flat on my commuter bike. First one was in the rain, piece of glass stuck to the tire and worked its way in. This one happened about a half mile from work so I just walked my bike in. I don't bother carrying tools because it's such a colossal pain in the ass to change a tire on my geared hub bike, and don't want to have to carry 5lbs more on top of what i already carry. Probably takes me 30 minutes at this point. I'll just take a Lyft home or something. Might start leaving tools at work, but oh man, changing a flat on this bike sucks.

On the plus side, my lights (B&M IQ-X and Topline brake-tec) are awesome.

joeyduck

Great rhyme. Isn't life more fun when you sing. For the record I am a terrible singer and my two year old tells me to, "Stop singing Daddy!" at the slightest indication of me singing or rhyming.

A (dad) joke:
Which type of dog is the best poet?

A Weimar-rhymer.

joeyduck

It is funny how we can recognize people in certain situation and not at all in others.

I swam through university and high school and at the end of each season we would shave our bodies and taper our practices. Anywho you get a huge group of hairless swimmers in the same suit it can be confusing. But I could recognize anyone I knew from a distance. But get them dressed and I wouldn't know them at all. That sounds more strange than it really is.

The weather has been up and down but we have not had as much rain as we were having. My wife is back from her trip; I give props to all single parents. Parenting is at best a team sport, maybe even a community.

I have been riding about the island and it is refreshing to be back on the bike. Even for such a short distance it is great to haul your own stuff home everyday.

Do any of you have a gecko? I am setting up a terrarium for a crested gecko and I was curious who had one and what their setup looked like. I am just waiting for my plants to grow and get established before I get one. It is a temperate (65-78°F) arboreal gecko so their habitat is a bit humid and filled with branches and plants. Very satisfying too look at I think. I think this may be my last pet for a while. We are out of places to put aquariums and habitats with the current four aquariums and the gecko habitat (in an aquarium); so if I was bring something else home it would get my wife mad at me. Though I would like a Maine Coon Cat.

noglider 

I lost my job yesterday, so I won't be commuting for a while.

Darth Lefty 

What! Out of the blue?

salcedo

Sorry to hear that

Hope you find a better one soon

mgw4jc

Wow @noglider! Sorry to hear that. I hope something comes up quickly for you.

We hit 70F yesterday. It was cooling off by 5pm, but still warm out. However, I found a MUP that was quite chilly. A lot of the paths around here follow creek beds and they can be a good 10 degrees colder sometimes.

A nice 15 miles this morning, except for passing the skunk roadkill now there for day 2.

rhm

I'm pretty sure I did not get that tire on without seating troubles; probably had the tube pinched under the bead somewhere, even though the inflated tire did not have any dips or bulges. But it went flat again on my ride to the station this morning. Pumped up and rode, pumped up and rode, pumped up and rode, pumped up and... oh, crap, the valve has got unscrewed. Walked the last couple hundred yards. I'll replace the tube when I get back to the station this afternoon.


@noglider, sorry to hear that! Good luck with the job search!

jrickards

Another comfortably cool morning, -2C/28F, and I beat the snowfall which is coming down now, 3hrs later. However, it is supposed to creep above freezing this afternoon.

Tundra_Man 

Oh man, that sucks. Sorry to hear about that.

Hope you find something quickly, and something better.

HardyWeinberg

Argh, sorry to hear.

HardyWeinberg

40F, raining

pdlamb

Clouds moved in last night, so the temperature was 20F warmer this morning -- nice day for a ride! (At least as wrong as the weatherman's 60% chance of rain stays 40% dry!)

@noglider, hope you find a good job with a good commute soon.

joeyduck

@noglider Such crummy news.

I I hope everyone is having a good day otherwise.

RidingMatthew

that is a great picture! So awesome to see kids on bikes!

@noglider sorry to hear that.. I hope you find something soon.

@mgw4jc I hear you last night we did a ride looking at Christmas lights and collecting toys for tots and in town is was pretty comfortable but as we got out of town and near the greenway it dropped temps fast. It was cold.

It was still good to be on the bike. Got my cassette replaced and bike shifted and rode great.

Yesterday was the first ride since my cold settled in (since last week). Driving for the past few days made me say "I am riding tomorrow I can not take the traffic." The city has started multiple road construction projects and traffic has been a mess the past few days and doesn't look like it will get better.


A friend of mine got hit or hit a car Monday and I have driven the past few days(3) to help my cold heal but also to make sure my wife is not freaked out. he seems to be okay but he is banged and bruised up.

locolobo13 

Interesting ride home. At the first light a motorcycle decided to pass the line of cars by riding up the bike lane and turning right. He got there within a second of when it turned green. I was just getting ready to start myself. Fortunately I heard him. He passed in front of me.

4 or 5 miles further I saw a kid, 14 or 15, riding his bike on the rims. Recall doing that myself as a youngster. Sure messes up the rims.

Another mile or so 2 young ladies with horses. One leading hers the other riding. They were in the yards next to the bike lane. I got into the lane so as not to spook their horses. Apparently unnecessarily. The horses didn't seem skittish as I passed.

Darth Lefty 

Between the two babies and the preschooler, one is usually my alarm clock. But the girl woke up before 5 and went back to sleep, and no one else got up til 7! So I drove today. But on the drive I saw a sweet steel frame dirt jumper on the front rack of a city bus and thought it was a funny combination

CesarGartrell

Unfortunately, my morning commute didn't went well. It was a one rainy day and my bike got stuck in a hole, I got a minor injury from that incident. Let's always stay safe in our bike everyone.

mgw4jc

Happy First of December! One more month to bump up your mileage for the year. I need about 430 more to hit 6,000 for the year.

A nice morning at just over 40F. I was dressed a little too warmly was unzipping a bit in the last few miles. Here's a sunrise picture taken while riding and looking somewhat behind me.

pdlamb

So close!


If I'd left work three minutes sooner last night, I'd have beat the rain. Nevertheless, I finished the month with 500 miles under my wheels -- my best November in years. I'll pay, of course, since the leaves (and pecans) have just started to fall, so weekend rides will be scarce for a few weeks.


Nothing significant to report this morning. It felt colder than the thermometer said because it was so damp.

Phamilton

Started commuting 9/4, so this week marks week 12 and makes for roughly 1500 miles - woot! Got my first flat this morning, though, about halfway to work. I used to have a nice frame pump and patch kit but my children played with them and lost them months ago. Fortunately someone from work was able to come pick me up with one of our delivery vans and I also arranged a ride home. Guess I'll be replacing the frame pump and patches this weekend. Also now wondering if 25s are maybe a little skinny for my 13 mile one way ride to work on rough shoulders/back roads/chip and seal/etc. I couldn't find any obvious puncture so I may have pinch flatted. Occurred to me right after I realized it was going flat that I hadn't checked my pressures in probably 2 weeks. Might have room for 32s under my fenders, but wonder if anyone has used 28s on a commute similar to mine. Beautiful morning, though, sunny and just below freezing, calm wind, light fog. I actually really enjoyed my walk waiting for my ride to come get me, had a chance to eat my breakfast and drink my coffee and listen to some tunes.

salcedo

I guess the size does matter, but it is not the only thing.

I try to check the air every 2 or 3 days. Some people check daily.

Also, if you are replacing your tires you could try to get puncture resistant ones like Specialized Armadillos or Continental Gatorskins

Tundra_Man 

I frequently commute on my road bike which has 23s. My commute varies, but I'll often ride 20-30 or more miles per day. I prefer the road bike on the longer commute days if the weather cooperates.

I've had this particular bike for 2.5 years and have had only one flat during that time. While smaller tires may be slightly more susceptible to punctures, I don't think your tires are too skinny for your commute. I'm guessing your puncture was due to a pinch flat or some other factor than sheer tire size.

mgw4jc

I use 25s on a 13ish mile commute. My surfaces maybe better though as I'm on pretty clean asphalt for the most part. I second @salcedo's comment on puncture resistant tires. I do a squeeze check every few days and try to keep them between 90-100psi.