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2013!! How Was your Commute Today?

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2013!! How Was your Commute Today?

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Old 05-30-13, 10:05 AM
  #1626  
BezO
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First commute in months due to brake, cabling, handlebar, shipping & procrastination issues. Not as bad on the legs as I expected. New appreciation for slipping through traffic.
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Old 05-30-13, 10:06 AM
  #1627  
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It's Bike to Work Week here in BC. It's a pretty big deal here in Vancouver--workplaces track kms and compete, lots of commuter stations with snacks/draws/free mechanic services, etc.

As usual, the weather is not cooperating for the noobs. Yesterday was the 2nd "bait-and-switch". ie. not raining in the AM, and then pouring in the PM. lol.
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Old 05-30-13, 07:37 PM
  #1628  
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Heavy rain and thunderstorms. Though not quite as severe as they'd expected. Still, it was serious.

20 mph headwind, to boot.

Still, I really didn't mind very much. I recently added a powerful headlight for just this reason. I carry seven pounds of battery to power the thing. (I don't carry the battery on days when I'm sure I won't need it.) I felt very secure.

I got wet. My so-called rain gear is in the dryer right now.

Yet it was still a fine ride, mostly.
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Old 05-31-13, 05:47 AM
  #1629  
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Originally Posted by bluegoatwoods
I recently added a powerful headlight for just this reason. I carry seven pounds of battery to power the thing. (I don't carry the battery on days when I'm sure I won't need it.) I felt very secure.
Wow! 7lbs of battery!

Ride in: Sweaty, humid...repeat for next three months
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Old 05-31-13, 05:52 AM
  #1630  
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The ride in this morning was very nice. I did not notice the temp as I went through town but it was warm enough for shorts and a shirt and very comfortable.
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Old 05-31-13, 06:13 AM
  #1631  
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Great ride this morning with temps in upper 60s and no wind, plus I had fresh legs because I had to drive yesterday. Our weather has been very summerlike this week, with highs in the upper 80s and high humidity. I would rather it be cooler, but I'm not complaining because we had not storms to contend with. Still a little freaked out by a thief stealing one of my coworker's bike in broad daylight the other day, and considering buying a heavier-duty U lock. The one I have is pretty strong but I might as well use a big, strong, heavy lock because I don't carry it with me but leave it locked to the rack at night.
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Old 05-31-13, 07:09 AM
  #1632  
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Originally Posted by tarwheel
Great ride this morning with temps in upper 60s and no wind, plus I had fresh legs because I had to drive yesterday. Our weather has been very summerlike this week, with highs in the upper 80s and high humidity. I would rather it be cooler, but I'm not complaining because we had not storms to contend with. Still a little freaked out by a thief stealing one of my coworker's bike in broad daylight the other day, and considering buying a heavier-duty U lock. The one I have is pretty strong but I might as well use a big, strong, heavy lock because I don't carry it with me but leave it locked to the rack at night.
You're making me nervous because I didn't even lock up this morning. I'm the only cyclist here for a stretch of months so I usually don't think about the potential for theft.
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Old 05-31-13, 07:42 AM
  #1633  
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The ride in was comfortable today. 70F, a little humid. Kind of not looking forward to the ride home: 85F, and 95% humidity expected. But, I'm jumping in the pool right after the ride.
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Old 05-31-13, 08:11 AM
  #1634  
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The ride in was wonderful. 45 degrees F, mild breeze, light traffic, and fairly steady legs from me.

i think i'll climb the local Category 1 ski hill road tomorrow to prep for the century i'm doing next weekend
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Old 05-31-13, 08:54 AM
  #1635  
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I left my three-speed at the train station last week when I went to Manhattan, and my wife drove me home. I went down there today with the dog. I rode most of the way home, very slowly, in a very low gear, on the sidewalk, holding her leash. It's a very steep hill, and it's very hot, and I didn't want to exhaust the dog. We stopped several times to catch our breath.
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Old 05-31-13, 09:51 AM
  #1636  
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Was heading out early for a long mellow detour but flatted about 2 miles from my house. Patched the flat and then noticed the huge cross-wise slice through the tire. I didn't have a boot in my kit but I was able use an XL size patch to hold it long enough to get home and switch bikes. At this point I just had to come in directly to the office.
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Old 05-31-13, 10:28 AM
  #1637  
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Added a few K's onto my pre-work-from-home ride this morning because it was so lovely out: sunny, 12C/54F, almost no wind. Got in an extra ravine in a there-and-back ride, and managed about 338 meters/1100 feet of climbing in a 25 km/15.5 mile ride (according to my Garmin 500). Not bad for a flat city.
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Old 05-31-13, 11:25 AM
  #1638  
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...and game over! At least for my rear wheel and the latter part of my commute home!

Morning commute to work was uneventful, but on the way back I had a classic Mediterranean grandmother jump/wobble from between two parked vans onto the road, without checking for traffic of course, and ended up right in front of me. At that point I was going pretty much flat-out, on third on the Nexus3 and should have been going around 30 kph in order to catch the green traffic light ahead of me, and because of the panic breaking, I skid the rear wheel to the right and side swiped the curb pretty hard. Luckily I managed not to fall, and the grandmother, totally oblivious to what had happened, wobbled her way to the other side, head down and mumbling something unintelligible.

The actual curb strike had taken it's toll on the rear wheel which was now rubbing the brakes, and about a mile down the road I heard the tell-tale snap of a spoke and the rear wheel froze by touching the inside of the chain-stay.

Hope you all had a better commute today!
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Old 05-31-13, 08:07 PM
  #1639  
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Very nice commute home yesterday with a tail wind, managed to slip in between the rain showers that were moving through. This morning, it POURED on me for part of it. Shoes were like swimming pools. But it wasn't too bad. Kept me cool(er) despite the humidity.
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Old 05-31-13, 08:50 PM
  #1640  
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Sticky. Then pouring rain. Then sticky. I loved it.
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Old 05-31-13, 08:54 PM
  #1641  
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
Very nice commute home yesterday with a tail wind, managed to slip in between the rain showers that were moving through. This morning, it POURED on me for part of it. Shoes were like swimming pools. But it wasn't too bad. Kept me cool(er) despite the humidity.
I have a working understanding of the conditions in which PGSR is pedaling.......keep it up, my friend........
Have fun. Ride a lot. Stay safe.
Hopefully those a little less faint of heart will take up the commute with you..........

Also, for you, almost more than any any other......
Know when to take the lane and when to be a gutter bunny............
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Old 06-01-13, 09:46 AM
  #1642  
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On the way to work yesterday, this happened:



I feel so dirty. In my defense, there is about a 350' elevation delta over about 3/4 of a mile between home and work.
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Old 06-01-13, 09:58 AM
  #1643  
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Originally Posted by AusTexMurf
I have a working understanding of the conditions in which PGSR is pedaling.......keep it up, my friend........
Have fun. Ride a lot. Stay safe.
Hopefully those a little less faint of heart will take up the commute with you..........

Also, for you, almost more than any any other......
Know when to take the lane and when to be a gutter bunny............
heh I'm out in the lane pretty much all the time. No gutters 'round here for most of the commute. There's really only a couple of uphill stretches that make me nervous when I'm going really slow and cars are behind me.
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Old 06-01-13, 02:57 PM
  #1644  
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Originally Posted by IthaDan
On the way to work yesterday, this happened:



I feel so dirty. In my defense, there is about a 350' elevation delta over about 3/4 of a mile between home and work.
Nothing inherently wrong with multimodal

It's about alternative transport
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Old 06-01-13, 08:00 PM
  #1645  
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The ride in was good, but the ride home was really warm (82F).
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Old 06-01-13, 09:08 PM
  #1646  
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oh hey great news. i found a route to the school where i am teaching summer school, and it's only 2 miles longer than my original ride to my school - and half of it is on a greenway. win!
AND i can start right from home, instead of driving half way to a church parking lot and riding from there - which is what I did for my normal commute.
double win!
i'm back baby! starting tuesday!
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Old 06-01-13, 11:13 PM
  #1647  
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Originally Posted by the sci guy
oh hey great news. i found a route to the school where i am teaching summer school, and it's only 2 miles longer than my original ride to my school - and half of it is on a greenway. win!
AND i can start right from home, instead of driving half way to a church parking lot and riding from there - which is what I did for my normal commute.
double win!
i'm back baby! starting tuesday!
If there's a will, there's a way! Happy and safe commuting!
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Old 06-03-13, 02:03 AM
  #1648  
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first commute in june that felt like a regular november commute. in my opinion the climate change can not be ignored anymore.
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Old 06-03-13, 06:01 AM
  #1649  
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Wet!!!! But warm and really pretty pleasant. Today's good deed was switching the lights off on a colleague's bike in the rack at work.
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Old 06-03-13, 06:20 AM
  #1650  
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50F a little head wind. I left a half hour later than usual and it was light before I got to work. Great nice ride.
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