Your lack of bike balance prowess is disturbing...

:roflmao2:

Haven't posted in here for a while, but I've been enjoying these first few commutes of the year.

Last night, going over the 59th St bridge, I noticed a guy up ahead of me on a citi bike. I wasn't catching him too quickly, so I started thinking, "wow, that guy must be riding that thing pretty hard." Then, as I got closer to him, I noticed he didn't seem to be pedaling hard at all, and sure enough, as I went past, I saw the big battery pack on the downtube.

Can't say that I'm a supporter of this idea. The way some of these people (not you, noglider) ride the regular citi bikes is bad enough, so I don't see how having large numbers of them being aided by a motor is going to make things better (safer).

Not trying to pick a fight, but those drivers are actually doing the right thing. If you wish to proceed at the same speed as surrounding traffic, or perhaps slower, a car driver should absolutely be in, and stay in, the right lane. The left lane should be reserved for passing only. If everyone did this (as they do in most of the civilized countries in the world), our roads would be significantly safer and more efficient.

But just how slow were these people going that you were passing them on your bike?

All states have slower keep right laws, most allow driving in the left lane if faster than traffic, only a few have left is passing only law. It doesn't apply on municipal roads unless there is a local ordinance.

IMO, when I find my bike going the same speed or faster than the traffic, I'll use whichever lane I need to. Or up the side or shoulder.

This Fall I bought a dedicated winter bike with Suomi studded tires, belt-drive and internal hub - slow but bomber-reliable and maintenance-free. Immediately after I mounted the studs after Tgiving, the weather dried up, and I've been riding my fast commuter with slicks from 18F to 50F, occasional rain, but virtually no ice. Obviously Ullr was intimidated by the new bomber setup and I've reaped the benefits. Today was bright and 40F on the ride in with a light tailwind - passing cars everywhere.

it happened again
 

So it happened again...:notamused: I rode this morning and it was 21F plus wind chill. I noticed about mid point (in my 10.5 mile one way ride) that rear brake was not releasing. I could feel the drag. This is the second time that it has slowed me down. Last time it completely stopped the rear wheel and would not release at all. So not only was I fighting headwinds my brake was slowing me down. :mad:

I am not sure what I need to do about the brakes. 2018 Salsa Journeyman 650b with mechanical disk brakes. Why would the brakes stay applied? The lever is in the right position (as if it was released) I will post another thread about this issue.

I've had my disk brakes stick when either the lever or brake actuator freezes. Usually it breaks free by moving it once - might you have a frayed cable? 19F with spitting snow, but the brutal winds have subsided.

14°F this morning with a steady cross/tail wind. I got out the door about 1/2 hour late due to dealing with a teenager. About a mile down the road I came to the intersection where I could either do the 8 mile ride to the office (my original intention) or the 4 mile ride to a client location. I came really close to giving in and taking the short ride, but I decided to tough it out and go to the office this morning. I'll ride to the client location over lunch.

By the time I got to the office my feet were pretty numb. I just wore old tennis shoes rather than my hiking boots. The old shoes have some holes that I discovered let the wind through.

Nice sunny ride in today, though it was below freezing. The tail wind helped -- I was fairly comfortable until the quarter mile jog into the teeth of the north wind just before I got to the office. Brr!

On to comments about yesterday...

First, I'm surprised to be reading this from a Queens commuter. I expected traffic there to be like it was in Brooklyn and Manhattan -- 3-5 lanes full of traffic dashing from one red light to the next. I'm going to have to stop next time I'm through there to watch miles of traffic sitting in the right lane because someone might be coming up faster behind them.

To answer your question, the vehicles I passed were stopped, then accelerating from stopped. I hit about 20 mph before the last vehicle in the right lane (the guy I called "slowpoke #2 ") passed me.

To answer some other questions you might have asked before starting the lecture, it's a 35 zone. I was the last vehicle through the light in the left lane. After the last vehicle in the right lane passed me, I moved right and was passed by 3-4 more vehicles that turned onto the boulevard I was riding. I caught up to the entire pack at the next light, so while I might have slowed traffic in the left lane (had there been any), I didn't delay anyone.

Finally, if you're really a bike commuter, there's a far greater chance (just looking at demographics) that I could have taught you to drive than that you're old enough to have taught me when I was learning to drive.

Was there anything else you feel qualified to nag me about?

I had my first beard-freezing cold day today. Looks like next week we get down to nosehair-freezing cold. We've had a few little flurries the last couple days, but still not enough accumulation to put my new winter tires to the test. I'm ready for some snow dag nabbit! Bring it on!

Queens isn't really any different to Brooklyn, although I would say Manhattan has some unique characteristics and traffic patterns. In any case, there was a pretty big 'should' in my statement. As wphamilton confirmed, these are indeed the rules of the road in most locations, but here in NY (and most other places I have observed in the US), these rules are not strictly enforced and generally unknown to most drivers. Traffic was always chaotic in the city, and now with the plague of Uber drivers everywhere, the situation has only gotten worse. I never thought it was possible to make the cabbies seem reasonable, until the Uber crowd showed up...

Anyway, it wasn't meant to be a nag or anything like that. The situation wasn't completely clear, so I was only commenting on slow cars keeping to, and thus lining up in, the right lane, and how that actually sounds rather refreshing. Your actions, as described, sound perfectly reasonable given the situation.

I thought perhaps you were answering Nature's call and this was the view you had.

Took the morning off to help the wife with an appointment. Left home at noon. Sunny, 40F, low traffic. Midday riding can be pretty nice on my bike route.

First day this week, I didn't get rained on. No complaints because we need rain in our drought stricken state. Otherwise uneventful ride into work.

Cold. My commute was cold. Low 20s for the ride in, maybe even 19F to start. 45 minutes later, my knees are still cold. I wasn't too bad for the ride in I suppose. Toes felt the worst for the last couple of miles. Rest of me was alright.

A co-worker saw me ride up to the building and said, "There's a real man! Props for riding in this cold!"
I replied, "Here's a real COLD man."

18F ride fail -because of the bike not my gear.
 

At least you made it! At 3.98 miles in I put on the brakes and it completely locked the rear wheel. I could not get anything to budge. I could not see (glasses fogged up) :mad:I had to call my wife to pick me up.

Taking the bike to shop today and telling them to fix it somehow.:troll:

Last night's commute home was somewhat notable. First, I would occasionally hear something lightly rubbing on a tire when I would go over bumps. It sounded like it was coming from the front tire, so I kept watching that area. Couldn't see anything obvious up there, but I thought maybe a fender stay had come loose and the fender might be rubbing a little. When I got home and got off the bike I turned around to see that my Ortleib bag was hanging near upside down, suspended only by the little hook at the bottom which usually is only used to keep the bag from bouncing against the rack. I must not have gotten the top hooks securely clipped to the rack. I have no idea how it didn't fall off. Odds are that if it had fallen off I wouldn't have even noticed until I got home, and would have been forced to go back and hunt for it. Considering that (among other things) it contained my wallet and my work laptop I got really lucky. So that sound I heard wasn't coming from the front, it was coming from the rear.

The other thing that happened was about halfway home I came across a woman walking down the MUP. She flagged me down and asked if I'd seen a dog. I could hear another guy in the distance calling the dog's name. The woman's face was very distraught. I told her that unfortunately I hadn't seen one, but I'd look around the parks surrounding the MUP the rest of my way home, and if I saw the dog I'd bring it back or at least come back and tell her where I saw it. I looked for the dog but wasn't able to find it. I hope the dog turned up. The look on the woman's face haunted me the rest of the evening. I can only imagine how upset I would be if I lost my cat.

This morning's ride to work was pretty tame in comparison. Fairly warm at 23F. Light wind. There is still rutted ice, but now the sections where it completely covers the MUP is limited to about a half mile stretch; all the other areas now have patches of dry pavement near them where I can just ride around the ice.

Nooooo! We're supposed to get first winter snow tonight and I'm already dreading next week's rides. 24F this morning so not quite beard freezing potential

Not as cold as @mgw4jc's ride, just in the mid-20s. Considering I was riding in shorts Tuesday, that felt cold. I bundled up in everything but my going-to-Antartica (or maybe South Dakota) tights, and since I wasn't too chilly, I put some speed on this morning and worked up a sweat despite the wind chill.

Bright sunny day, clear as a bell, and I got more human interaction this morning than, well, hardly ever. The kids waiting for the bus answered my "Good morning!" as did the guy walking to the bus stop, the homeless guy I passed on the bike, and the crossing guard. Usually the most I get is the crossing guard waving. Nice way to start a day!

A hard lesson that I STILL sometimes overlook, if I hear ANY unusual noise stop and check it. A rustle like leaves, click, whine, anything at all, even if my first thought was "I must have run over something" because if I have to think "I must have", I probably didn't. I dropped some keys one time, and by a fluke remembered where I heard an odd sound and went back and found them! A year or two later I ignored a sound, same keys were lost costing me about $70.

40F, high cloud ceiling

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...db087b4fc5.jpg

Indigenous people of the area called Mt. Rainier "The Big One" - I miss that view although I don't miss looking at it while stuck on 405 on my way to work!

I got yelled at today. A guy rolled his passenger window down in 18F to yell get off the road. why do some people dislike bicyclists so much?

then my rear brake locked up and had to call my wife to come get me.... I ended up driving. I am taking the bike to the shop tonight

My commute is nothing to complain about this morning compared to the others on this thread. 50 degrees and no rain...though my commute home will be wet. The one thing I'm becoming even more acutely aware while commuting is the increasing number of homeless on my route. Makeshift shelters or the number of campers/rvs has easily doubled over the last year.

I'm going to have a surgery. I've been debating how much to share and in what venue. Suffice to say it's for my bum ticker. The surgery will be the last week of February. Due to the risk to re-injuring the sternum I can't drive or lift more than 10 lbf or even go to my sedentary job until the end of April. After that it's "take it easy" until the end of August, so no lifting toddlers into their cribs, yard work... or cycling.

Of course I was instantly negotiating with my wife and surgeon both about it. Cycling is my only workout and I'm worried about doddering around the neighborhood accomplishing nothing half an hour at a time for "rehab." And it's part of my identity and recreation, I'm worried about losing fitness. I know I'm going to lose all my upper body strength no matter what I do. I'm going to get a recumbent trike once I'm back to work. I'll try one out before the surgery to make sure the steering forces aren't too much. I'm fortunate that we have a specialist shop nearby, Laid Back Cycles. I'll give them a visit. I'm not likely to stay with it past my recovery, I like riding my MTB through puddles too much.

(assuming survival *cough*)

First commute of the year for me today - finally! 8 miles commute in, still riding MTB at the weekends, so at least it isn't a complete new start to pedalling in 2019!
Nice weather : 7 deg C this morning cycling in, wet roads but not raining so its a success!

It was 16 f degrees when I passed the sign at the bank this morning. It was a very pleasant yet uneventful ride. My first ride in what seems like a long time. Hopefully this week should be a good week for riding!

A little chilly for a blazer/T-shirt combo and no gloves. But, on the whole a nice ride.

7C or so and a slight breeze of about 10 mph in the face.

Geez, good luck with the surgery. I can relate trying to convey to docs (and my wife) how important riding is - they just don't get it.

Wimped out today - lots of snow and temps in low teens. I need to recommit my self promise to ride no matter what the weather... or not

May the biking gods be on your side.. Sorry to hear this would be tough for me as well. Kayaking would be out of the picture to yuk! I guess alot of walking if you can! They say the fitter you are the quicker you'll bounce back and better you'll do during surgery.