campfire

2 weeks ago a traumatic car-bike crash derailed my commuting streak. I'm now back to work, and today was my first bike commute. In addition to being psychologically hard to get back in the saddle, it's amazing how out of shape I feel after 2 weeks of not riding.



I also raced an airplane. I didn't win, but it made for interesting scenery.

Tundra_Man 

Oh my gosh! I hope you are OK.

If you don't mind sharing the details, what happened?

campfire

Wife & 3 kids were rear-ended at 40MPH while riding our cargo ebike. All 4 of them went to our local trauma center. I'm not physically injured, but I've been caring for the wounded for the last 2 weeks. I'm not going to share collision details until our insurance claims are settled, but eventually I'll make an update in this thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-...l#post22902323

You can subscribe to that thread if you want the details.

Darth Lefty 

That’s dreadful news. I’m glad you all lived! The only thing comparable I can think of in my tenure in this forum is joeyduck’s

Darth Lefty 

I did not race an airplane, in fact I think I was outpaced by this runner and his coach today

campfire

Thanks. What is joeyduck's story?

And in case it wasn't obvious...at no point was I keeping up with the airplane. We just happened to be going the same direction at the same time. A very lop-sided race.

Darth Lefty 

joeyduck was a forum regular from Vancouver, BC, who in 2015 clipped a bus and fell in front of a dump truck that ran over his legs . Years of recovery with reconstruction surgeries and skin grafts and infections, the works.

There have been other forum members with serious crashes, of course. His resonated because we were commuting subforum buddies. He started his family about the same time as me. His profile says he last logged in early 2022, he hasn't posted since 2020. They moved across the strait because he got a schoolteacher job. Have not heard from him in a while, hope he is doing ok. Have not done the forum mention tag thing here in case it's something he wants to put behind him

Darth Lefty 

another badge-hunt fiasco this morning, but the ride was nice

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1669:

Haven't posted much in the last couple of weeks. Not because I haven't been commuting every day, mostly just because it's been pretty routine.

This morning I had a dentist appointment scheduled a 8 AM. I took my pre-appoinment antibiotic at 7 AM, which is a requirement for me due to my mechanical heart valve. At 7:15 I was getting ready to head out the door when my phone rang, which is really unusual at this time in the morning. I answered and it was the dentist office telling me that the hygienist is sick and they have to reschedule. So, I rode directly to the client's office instead.

I really wish they had called 15 minutes sooner. The antibiotics tend to give me gut rot. My stomach hurt all morning and now at 2 PM it's finally starting to settle down a bit.

pdlamb

A nice, cool ride to the office -- so why am I dripping sweat by the time I get upstairs?

Summer's come early here. Ragweed is about to start blooming, and there was a large patch of blooming thistles that public works needs to mow down. (Sure am glad I'm not farming wheat!) Those blooms looked like what I expect in mid-July to August, and it's just the first week in June. May be time to get a Costco-size package of Zyrtec.

jaxy357

I think today is a Code Red for air quality in Delaware due to the Canadian wildfires...but I'm still riding! To be determined if I start coughing or something later...

Darth Lefty 

I stopped twice this morning to put air in my rear tire. This is tubeless but there's no sealant coming out anywhere. I added sealant at the first stop and it didn't help nor did it reappear from a hole. Either it's leaking at the valve or it's leaking into the rim (yuck). There is no place around work to dip the tire but there's a lake a mile away. I think I'll take my lunch over there

Darth Lefty 

I went to start the investigation and it’s holding air. My bike is gaslighting me.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1672:

72° this morning, but very humid. The wind was blowing about 15 mph from my least favorite direction, which is southeast. That meant I got a slight push (more crosswind than push) on the way to work, I'll get a crosswind/slight headwind at lunch on the way to a client location and I'll have to fight it head-on during the ride home. I much prefer fighting the wind on the way to work and getting the push later in the day when I'm tired. God doesn't consult me when choosing the wind directions.

Doing a 24 mile loop today. Slept OK last night once I fell asleep, but didn't get the total amount of sleep I should have. Not getting enough sleep has been a pretty common theme for me for quite a while now. I should go to bed earlier, but it seems there's always some life event keeping me up. Five minutes before I was supposed to leave the house this morning I drifted off as I was sitting in a chair preparing for the day. Thankfully I woke up and was able to force myself to stand up and get out the door on time.

I was on my road bike. As I was riding along I came to the backside of a fork in the MUP. As I merged into the main path, there was a group of three guys on road bikes on the other branch about 100 yards behind me. They were keeping a good group pace and within 1/4 mile they caught me.

The first guy passed me with no problem. The 2nd guy made an unsafe pass, squeezing between me and some oncoming pedestrians. As the 3rd guy came around, he slowed down and struck up a conversation. He was fascinated that I was riding my bicycle to work. We started talking about our various occupations, and discovered that we have a a handful of mutual friends. Nice guy.

After about two miles of chatting, his friends were well ahead of us so he wished me well and took off to catch them. As we came to Yankton Trail park, he and his friends stayed on the MUP, while I got off and took the main road through the park. I generally take this route on the way in to work just to vary my routes a little, as I'll ride the MUP the whole way through this park on the way home. The main road is ever so slightly longer than the MUP route. However, in the early mornings there's not a lot going on in the park (it's mostly soccer fields) so I often have the road completely to myself.

I'm not sure what got into me, but as long as I was out on the road and didn't have to worry as much about speed limits and pedestrians, I decided to see if I could beat that group of riders to the place where I rejoin the MUP about a mile down the road. I cranked for all I was worth, maintaining 20+ mph for the whole stretch. I managed to beat them to the intersection by about 5 feet. My new friend was surprised to see me in front of him again, and stated that he was impressed with how fast I made it through the park.

When I arrived at work, I was sweatier than I've been in a long, long time.

Rothaí

Year to date:
Jan 5th, cycled across a dropped kerb I thought was flush with the road...it wasn't.....hit the deck, broken right clavical.
Apr 24th, running upstairs at home & slipped....foot hit the step.....broken 2nd left metatarsal.

Hope to commute tomorrow :-)

Darth Lefty 

The mileage thread says I haven't cashed out since March but I've been riding about twice a week, I guess

All three kids are now old enough to be in the same summer camp. I started my summer route with one last week for shakedown. Then I rode my commuter bike from their parking lot twice this week. Tuesday was marked by f-ups with the truck key location resulting in a lot of driving around between dinner and bedtime. Thursday night my knee complained bitterly. It's about 12 miles round trip. Google Maps rates it "mostly flat" but a couple of spots are pretty steep, especially on the return leg with a single speed and a bum ticker. ​​​​​I guess it's finally time to put gears (and the other brake) on my commuter.

In spite of this I'm enjoying the route. It's a big open surface artery that is thoroughly landscaped and winds a bit so it doesn't seem like a slog. It's not too trafficky at my commute times and there's an excellent coffee shop on the way.

pdlamb

Morning ride was uneventful.

If I could have missed my last meeting, everything would have been fine going home. As it was, I watched the radar and figured if I left to get changed, I might miss the coming shower and still have time to get home before the next shower hit. Wrong.

First shower hit before I got out of the parking lot, coming over the ridge to the north. OK, two miles in the rain, and then sprint before the next one ... started raining on me. Hard. Started me wondering, if I get home wet, and the bike stays in the garage overnight where the relative humidity will stay at 100%, is it better to oil the chain at night (and potentially trap water inside the chain to facilitate internal rust), or oil it in the morning before setting off? What say the boffins of the interwebs? As it was, it was barely sprinkling by the time I made it home, and bounced the bike a few times to try to shake off excess water.

Well, we needed the rain, and my lawn will appreciate it.

I think I'll add "try to time the ride home between thundershowers" to "wash the car" and "hang (bike) clothes out to dry" as near certain ways to "make" it rain.

Welshboy

Well, yesterday was probably my final commute ever after being laid off. My contract originally finished at the end of March so this has hardly come as a surprise but work dribbled on and I was extended for almost another three months. I'm just a few weeks away from my 62nd birthday and I think I'll call it a day. State Pension Age (in the UK) is 67 so, financially, I've got five years to bridge but it's quite doable with a few adjustments... like stopping buying bikes and frames!!

Anyway, after 40 years of me enviously watching people cycle commute (an option not available to me) the past four years of cycle commuting over distances ranging from 3 miles to 12 miles each way has been fantastic and I really enjoyed it.

Keep up the good work!

Darth Lefty 

Congratudolances

jaxy357

Woke up at around 2:30 am because my husband got up to go to the bathroom and I couldn't fall back asleep. No worries, I decided to take the 5:40 am train (instead of my usual 6:40 am train) to work and go to a 7 am yoga class. Checked my old school odometer that came with my bike and I'm now over 200 miles clocked since I picked it up last summer. Not bad for being primarily a campus bike that I only took on a few longer rides!

pdlamb

A few more commutes under my tires. Mornings have been nice and cool, I'm getting reminded it's SUMMER every afternoon.

This morning was weird. OK, I was a few minutes late getting out the door, but I did not expect the traffic. The sheer volume of traffic made me wonder if an early morning train wreck was clearing as I rode around downtown, though I didn't see any evidence of it -- except a block or two worth of traffic near a couple of crossings that normally have a half-dozen to a dozen vehicles. (And me waiting to make a left turn at both locations!) No big parking backup at the civic center, no lines of cars near hospital parking, I don't know what was going on.

After the first three miles, things were back to normal -- smooth sailing into the office.

groovestew

Happy summer everyone! School's out for summer (but not blown to pieces), so I'm released from driving-the-kids-to-school duty and free to get to work however I like! Truth be told, I probably could have ridden occasionally over the last couple of months, but just wasn't feeling it. A few major construction projects are affecting both my drive and my cycling route, making it inconvenient to do either, but I managed this morning.

Nice to see some familiar names on this thread. Best wishes to Welshboy and welcome to jaxy357 . Nice Bridgestone! The foam grips, suicide brake levers, and stem-mounted shifters remind me of my first 10-speed, a Sears Free Spirit I bought in the early 80s in Jr. High. Not as nice as a Bridgestone, but I loved that bike.

Darth Lefty 

Pursuant to last autumn's posts about buckeyes - right now it's oak tree sticky mess season. The oak trees here have several endemic diseases and infestations. About the time their canopy finishes growing, they start raining a mist of honeydew. But then now around the start of high summer, the flowering process is all done and the acorns start, and they also have an infection that makes larger drops of sap from the nut buds. All in all it's a gross mess. I happen to park my truck under one and it's an irritating mess. Fortunately it rinses off. When riding under a row of trees along a street I can feel the drag. It's like stepping out of a dried up puddle of Coke, but continuous instead of intermittent

groovestew

Oops, I did it again. Second cycling commute of the year, just before the mid point. These first couple rides, I've taken a dirt trail for a stretch instead of the paved trails and roads. I avoid the construction, but it's a bit of a steep tough climb for a bit, better suited for a mountain bike. Also lots of grasshoppers this year, hiding in the tall grass along the trail. We had an exceptionally dry spring, and even though we had a ton of rain now in June, the grasshoppers have flourished. Feels like I'm parting the Red Sea as I ride through their habitat, as they jump and scatter before me.

Darth Lefty 

Three laps this week. This afternoon is going to be hot, maybe >100, for the first time this year. This is finally about normal. We are not participating in the "national" heat wave occurring in the East. When it does go above normal, like up near 110, I'll drive.