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

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

Old 01-05-19, 03:34 PM
  #26  
eugew23
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I am a very light-rider; my commute is only 3 miles! But even so, I am discouraged easily by the rain and I am not adequately equipped to handle much more than a drizzle. Perhaps this year I shall ride more and get some proper riding gear!
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Old 01-05-19, 06:48 PM
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With light showers throughout the 10-day forecast, I finally took off the kid seat rack (basically unused since installed because twins = trailer) and installed the Mud Hugger fender. I was glad I remembered where I kept the original Salsa seat collar and shorter bolts for the Alternator dropouts.
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Old 01-06-19, 12:26 PM
  #28  
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Lovely cycle into work on quiet Sunday morning roads...so much quieter than even a normal Sunday.
8°C and dry.......perfect.
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Old 01-07-19, 02:19 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
Just didn't want to deal with the rain so I took the velo bike today, which I hadn't used since last winter, if then.
Is that your own design or did you buy a kit?
Looks very interesting, is it primarily for aerodynamics or weatherproofing ? Or both ?
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Old 01-07-19, 06:59 AM
  #30  
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Almost 60 on Jan 7th and windy of course. It was in the right direction most of the time to push me along at least!
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Old 01-07-19, 07:50 AM
  #31  
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A nice ride in despite being back to normal traffic. I stopped about 3.5 miles into the ride to capture the sunrise. Forecast this week is no rain unlike what we had last week.



There is a water main or something busted by a house in one neighborhood. I first saw it last Thursday morning. Just a steady stream of water coming from the grass into the road and down to a storm drain. Looks like more than a single hose could output just running out for days now. I thought they'd get it fixed quicker than that.
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Old 01-07-19, 08:39 AM
  #32  
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Pretty nice morning ride, 44F, clear, but a decent headwind. Supposed to rain this afternoon with temps in the 50's. If this is winter I'll take it!
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Old 01-07-19, 08:52 AM
  #33  
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Happy New Year Commuters!

Good Morning and Happy New Year Commuters!

I rode Jan 2nd to work. It was a good day of riding and I was able to get 26.80 round trip which is not too bad for January. I could have ridden Thursday but weather forecast tricked me, called for rain but it was doable. It rained all day Friday and I was glad to not ride in that mess. I rode today and it was quite pleasant like @mgw4jc said. Though they are calling for snow this weekend. I could get used to temps like this.

I rode my road bike (Cervelo R2) Sunday for about 30 miles it was in the 60's there is such a difference between the two bikes. It was much more unsettled at first but it was fast. I got used to it and
really enjoyed my ride. I think that i will have to get a new saddle for that bike. I have a hot spot that I thought was because of bib shorts in the past but it might be because of that saddle. OUCH. My Journeyman is much more stable but felt slow. Probably because of the cooler temps, panniers, and darkness.



Sunday ride!

Sunrise over a farm this morning 1/7/2019

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Old 01-07-19, 08:54 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by mgw4jc
A nice ride in despite being back to normal traffic. I stopped about 3.5 miles into the ride to capture the sunrise. Forecast this week is no rain unlike what we had last week.



There is a water main or something busted by a house in one neighborhood. I first saw it last Thursday morning. Just a steady stream of water coming from the grass into the road and down to a storm drain. Looks like more than a single hose could output just running out for days now. I thought they'd get it fixed quicker than that.
your picture turned out better than mine. I could have stopped a couple times this morning to take pics sunrise was gorgeous today but traffic was back
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Old 01-07-19, 09:07 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by Rothaí
Is that your own design or did you buy a kit?
Looks very interesting, is it primarily for aerodynamics or weatherproofing ? Or both ?
It's for both, and very aero but to be honest my main use case these days is for the weather. My own design* - I used to build a new one every winter but this is a couple of years old and not used as much.

*materials cost plus tools was generally $100-$150 if you're curious. That windshield is a cheap motorcycle windscreen from Japan, installed upside down. Prior to that I'd used a polycarbonate sheet that I curved with a heat gun which was lighter and likely more aero but kind of home-brew looking.

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Old 01-07-19, 09:41 AM
  #36  
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Today's commute is brought to you by Tylenol, which I will probably be taking today after going down this morning on my ride into work.

The rutted ice ordeal continues. I was on the MUP heading down a small hill that ends with a hairpin right turn. This area is shaded and is well known for being slick, so I am always extra careful in this area. This morning no amount of care kept me upright. I was going pretty slow when suddenly an ice rut force my front tire about 4" to the left. I discovered that when that happens no amount of studs are going to keep you from hitting the ground. I wound up on my back looking at the sky. The back of my helmet cushioned the blow to my head. Thankfully the area I fell in was icy but dry, so my work clothes didn't get spoiled.

Upon gathering my bearings and standing up, I could see where my studs dug grooves in the ice as they slid sideways when I was going down. I should have taken a picture, but I was in a bit of a daze and kind of angry at myself for letting it happen (although I rode by this exact spot a half dozen times last week and never crashed.) Thankfully the bicycle was undamaged so I got back on the horse and finished the ride to work.
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Old 01-07-19, 09:54 AM
  #37  
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@Tundra_Man be careful out there!
Would anyone have known where to look for you if you were more damaged than you were?
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Old 01-07-19, 10:34 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by RidingMatthew
@Tundra_Man be careful out there!
Would anyone have known where to look for you if you were more damaged than you were?
My wife knows the route I take to get to work. Although my work times and location vary quite a bit so if I didn't show up at the client's office this morning they would have just assumed I went to my company's office, and vice-versa. So odds are nobody at work would have known to come look for me.

Our MUP is fairly well used even during the winter so I probably wouldn't have had to wait too long had I been severely injured and not been able to reach my phone. In fact, about 1/4 mile back I had just said "good morning" to I guy I see out walking every day. He would have happened upon my body within a few minutes of me going down.
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Old 01-07-19, 10:41 AM
  #39  
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35F and clammy
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Old 01-07-19, 10:54 AM
  #40  
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A little snowy but not bad - As many of you know, I don't ride every day because I work out of the office several days/month. That said, I am committed to commuting by bike at least 1 day each month in 2019! Jan - 4 so far!
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Old 01-07-19, 11:07 AM
  #41  
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Happy New Year! First work day of the year, and therefore first commute -- and it was a lovely day to go for a bike ride! After all the rain and cold last month, it was clear and warm today (warm for January, meaning warm jersey and leg warmers). I had a sleep deprivation hangover after Pacific Time daughter left Saturday, but getting sunshine on my face -- the face that was NOT freezing -- turned my whole mood up.

For some reason, there was a lot more traffic than there was Christmas week -- wonder why?
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Old 01-07-19, 02:39 PM
  #42  
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43 degrees and light rain for this mornning's ride, with a whipping 20 mph tailwind.

rain is supposed stop just before i head home.

that would be nice.
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Old 01-07-19, 02:55 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
My wife knows the route I take to get to work. Although my work times and location vary quite a bit so if I didn't show up at the client's office this morning they would have just assumed I went to my company's office, and vice-versa. So odds are nobody at work would have known to come look for me.

Our MUP is fairly well used even during the winter so I probably wouldn't have had to wait too long had I been severely injured and not been able to reach my phone. In fact, about 1/4 mile back I had just said "good morning" to I guy I see out walking every day. He would have happened upon my body within a few minutes of me going down.
that is good i just know you ride in some extreme temps and conditions would hate for you to be missed.
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Old 01-07-19, 04:09 PM
  #44  
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First commute of 2019 with new rear fender that worked great and new frame bag for which I apparently scooted the front downtube guard too far back and got splashed. I can fix it!
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Old 01-08-19, 04:40 AM
  #45  
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In my typical last-minute fashion, I just hopped on the bike after leaving it outside from 19 DEC to 7 JAN for Xmas holidays and tried to ride it into work. Super low air pressure. The shared PhD student office had a bike pump that I borrowed at work and perfect! No gauge on it (PhD students are poor!) but I could pump them up to rock hard!

Rode again today and it was great

Slightly windy but not that cold (6 C).

No rain yet, need to install those fenders soon!

Mild winter, which is nice
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Old 01-08-19, 07:15 AM
  #46  
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1st commute of the year. Chilly!
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Old 01-08-19, 08:18 AM
  #47  
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Windy today. 20-25 mph mostly head-winds as I rode to our company office. Supposed to increase to 25-30 steady with gusts in the 40-50 mph range, so I should have an interesting ride across town at lunch. It should mostly be cross-winds for that ride. Then coming home this evening I should get a good push.

Didn't crash today, so that was nice. Still pretty icy. Hopefully today's winds will help evaporate some of that stuff.

At least the temp was downright warm: 34°F. That's 23 degrees warmer than our average January morning temp. That's pretty much the high as temps are expected to drop throughout the day and be closer to normal temps tomorrow.

This morning a friend of mine started his car and then went inside to let it warm up (not sure why he'd do that with temps this warm; probably habit.) While he was inside he heard an engine rev, looked out the window and saw his car zoom away. Stolen. So I guess that's another thing we bicycle commuters don't have to worry about: our bike getting stolen while it's warming up.
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Old 01-08-19, 09:56 AM
  #48  
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51F this morning, wet from yesterday's rain, headwind. As noon we're under a wind warning, temps dropping, and said wind reversing direction so headwind again. Tomorrow morning we're back in the teens. I think I'll take the bus home.
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Old 01-08-19, 10:11 AM
  #49  
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36F dark heavy drizzle
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Old 01-08-19, 10:12 AM
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A pretty good ride this morning. Temperature was middle 50s, so despite the overcast, it was downright comfortable! Just three days without rain and I don't notice everything seeming as muddy as it was Saturday morning.

Mercury's falling tonight, so we'll be down to seasonal normal temps in a couple days. It was nice while it lasted!
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