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2021! The “How was your commute?” thread!

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2021! The “How was your commute?” thread!

Old 04-06-21, 09:37 AM
  #76  
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@essiemyra, what about your ride home last night? Did you sit up and fly home with a tailwind?
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Old 04-06-21, 09:50 AM
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1166:

I've made it this far into the pandemic without any major scares. I have my first vaccination shot scheduled for Thursday. Then last night I received word that someone I had been in close contact with over the weekend tested positive yesterday for COVID, so now I'm in quarantine for 14 days. [slaps head]

So I reverted to my work-from-home routine and got up this morning and rode to the office, then turned around and rode back home before I started my workday. If anything good came out of it, it's supposed to start raining this afternoon so I got the ride finished while it was still pretty nice out (50°F) and dry.
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Old 04-07-21, 04:54 AM
  #78  
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
@essiemyra, what about your ride home last night? Did you sit up and fly home with a tailwind?
No such luck on getting that tailwind. The ride home took me 2 minutes longer and it was the direct route home.

It was a pleasant ride in again this morning with the temp at 39f degrees. Clear skies with the light coming up earlier each day. I was going to extend my route this am but will wait till tomorrow when the temp should be above 40 in the am.
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Old 04-08-21, 04:59 AM
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A very nice commute this am. I was able to extend the ride an extra mile or so. The temp was nice at 50 degrees. I did not need any jacket ,winter socks, gloves or a hat. I am probably shedding those items to quickly most likely they will all be needed again tomorrow when it is colder.
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Old 04-08-21, 09:22 AM
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1168:

Today was the third day of my quarantine commute. Temp in the mid 40s F, stiff wind and steady rain. The times I've worked from home during the pandemic has proved to be the toughest challenge I've faced in regards to keeping my commuting streak alive, especially on bad weather days.

This morning I woke up tired (haven't been sleeping well lately) and heard the rain and wind outside my window. As I was working from home, I didn't have a whole lot of motivation to crawl out of bed and go on a seemingly pointless ride to the office just to turn around and ride back home. My brain was screaming, "Screw the streak! Stay in bed for another hour and a half!" My heart knew however, that if I did that I would hate myself later. So I forced myself to get up and ride through the wind and cold soaking rain just so I could add one more increment to my count. Sure enough, now that a few hours have passed I have no regrets.

I did try something a little different today. Often times in the rain I will ride without socks, as I've found that they act like giant sponges and make my shoes even wetter. Plus, the dirty splash water tends to stain my socks and I recently got nice new ones. I felt a bit cold and wanted the warmth of socks, so I dug through the recycling bin and found a couple bags from the grocery store. I put those on my feet over my socks, then put my shoes on. I stuffed the top of the bags into the top of my socks to keep them in place. It actually worked pretty well. My feet got slightly damp, but I believe that was from sweat because the bags didn't let my feet get any air. My socks stayed nice and clean, and my feet stayed warm. I did look a bit like a homeless person with bags sticking out between my pants and shoes, but oh well.
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Old 04-09-21, 04:19 AM
  #81  
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Yay for Friday! The commute was pleasant today with the temp back at 39 degrees. Yesterday was a treat. But due to good weather I was able to bike commute all five days this week. So that is a win.
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Old 04-09-21, 07:36 AM
  #82  
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1169:

Third rainy quarantine commute in a row. Temp was 43°F and wind was steady at 17 mph. At least it was a headwind on the way to the office, then I could turn around and let it push me back home. I'd much rather fight the wind first and then take it easy later.

Was checking the air pressure on my tires before I left the house and noticed my front tire had a bulge in it. The tire isn't that old and only has 2078 miles on it (about 1/3 of what I normally get out of a front tire.) Glad I saw it before I left the house.

Unfortunately, that was my main bike for rainy weather. I have two other bikes with fenders. One is my fat bike, which coincidentally has a flat front tire (needs sealant) so that wasn't an option. The other is my old winter bike with studded tires, which I didn't feel like pulling down from storage and dealing with the resistance of studs. So I decided to ride the road bike which meant me and the bike got completely covered with muck by the time I got back home.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to order a new tire...
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Old 04-12-21, 05:03 AM
  #83  
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Back to Monday am and a nice commute to work. Though I did have a small incident this am when flying down a hill and hitting a bump at the bottom the trunk bag fell off of my bike. I guess I did not do a good job of securing the bag this am. So instead of flying up the next hill I had to work. Oh well, at least no cars were around after the bag fell off, as it landed in the middle of an intersection. I also extended my ride this am a little. I like that sun is rising earlier so it is light almost my entire ride to work.
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Old 04-12-21, 04:20 PM
  #84  
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My commute was nice since it was warm out the mornings are still a Lil chilly but nothing to bad
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Old 04-12-21, 06:02 PM
  #85  
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I took a ride in today because I knew I had about a 2.5 hour window and about 1.5 hr of stuff to do in the office. Because I have not been riding it much I still haven't really dialed in my flat bar setup on my Stormy. It's still got only one over-length brake hose. Minimalist for sure! The ride itself was not noteworthy except for having happened.
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Old 04-13-21, 04:23 AM
  #86  
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This morning's ride was pleasant yet a little on the dark side as I left the house. I could not make the front light work this am. I had charged it all night but it would not turn on. It is light enough to ride without a light about ten minutes into my ride as the light is coming up that much earlier. So all in all a good ride.
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Old 04-13-21, 04:59 AM
  #87  
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May success be with you!
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Old 04-13-21, 03:03 PM
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Squeaked in another one today.

My apple watch's GPS and Strava are still not pulling their act together

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Old 04-14-21, 04:24 AM
  #89  
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A very pleasant and uneventful ride this am. The temp was 43f degrees with partly cloudy skies when I left my house.
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Old 04-14-21, 03:47 PM
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Got another lap in. Three this week! That’s probably it, though
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Old 04-19-21, 04:53 AM
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Back at Monday! It was a pleasant uneventful ride in this am. Though the temp is a little chilly still at 38 f degrees this am. It is nice that sunrise is now before six am. It was light enough as I was leaving the house this am.
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Old 04-20-21, 04:20 AM
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Another pleasant uneventful ride this am same as yesterday but today is Tuesday.
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Old 04-20-21, 07:14 AM
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1176:

24°F this morning. So far April has been colder than normal, this being my 7th commute in a row with the morning temperature at or below freezing. At least the wind was a light 8 mph, which is also the calmest it's been for over a week. And the sun was out, so overall it wasn't bad.

I took the road bike. Hit a big rock that somehow I didn't see. From the sound it made I thought I was going to have a flat, but thankfully the tire stayed inflated.

I'm done with my quarantine due to close exposure with someone who tested positive. This morning it was nice to ride to work in the morning and actually stay there. Made it through the two week isolation without contracting COVID myself (at least that I'm aware of.)
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Old 04-20-21, 03:21 PM
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Rides yesterday and today, for morning in-office time. I feel a little like I'm taking time away from my other responsibilities but I also feel like the last six months have been a terrible drag on my health and I need to get back to it.
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Old 04-21-21, 08:37 AM
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1177:

The unseasonably cold April continues. Woke up to 21°F with about 1/4" of unexpected snow on the ground.

I was all packed to ride the road bike and didn't feel motivated enough to move everything out of my backpack and into my panniers. Plus my schedule today has me riding about 24 miles and I wanted the speed of the road bike. So I decided to go ahead and just take the road bike. Most of the roads where cars had driven were clear enough of snow. Surprisingly, I had no issues with the skinny road bike tires on some of the spots that were still snow covered. I had to dodge a few icy spots, but overall didn't have any problems.

Saw a ring necked pheasant on the way in. He was sitting on the side of the road and didn't seem too concerned that I passed about 15 feet from him. For being our state bird, it is actually pretty rare I see one let alone this close.
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Old 04-21-21, 09:29 PM
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No ride today - too rushed. No ride tomorrow, most likely - going for second shot at 10:25 after a 9am meeting. Maybe in the afternoon, or maybe shouldn't just in case of a poor reaction.
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Old 04-22-21, 08:19 AM
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Back in the saddle again! Sure, I've been riding for the last 13 months, but this was the first time in that long I rode in to the office to stay for some hours -- some things just need to be done here.

Crisp, clear blackberry winter morning. Even found a blackberry bush in full bloom! After 80F just over a week ago, it's a shock to the system to see frost on windshields this morning -- and since I've got to go to work, no waiting until it warms up to so a lunchtime ride. More traffic than I expected near downtown, though still not back to "normal" levels.

I was surprised to see so many bluebirds along the field across from the office. Have they already nested and are starting to fledge? So soon and without me getting opportunities to see them!
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Old 04-22-21, 05:49 PM
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I did a bit of weight training this morning. My commute is short, but includes a good 750' of climbing. Panniers were stuffed including some large-format illustrated books--those things are heavy!



I usually take the direct route to/from work on paved roads. Today, I took the one less traveled by, and that made all the difference.

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Old 04-26-21, 05:28 AM
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Originally Posted by K'Tesh
Yes, I've re-upped, and am still in China, I made it through the dumpster fire that was 2020, and I still ride bikes. Oh, and it's 2021 here (I was afraid it'd be 13/01/2020 (so I double checked and it's not))... So, let's get started...

How was YOUR commute?
I have not committed yet this year to work I've been riding on zwift. Still working from home
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Old 04-26-21, 07:27 AM
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1180:

48F this morning. I left my long pants and jacket at home and just wore a sweatshirt and pair of shorts. It was just a touch chilly, but not so much where I thought about it the entire ride. It's supposed to be mid-70s for the ride home so it will be nice throwing my sweatshirt in the bag and just riding in a t-shirt.

Pulled my bike down and the rear tire was flat. Then I remembered I was having a slow leak last week where I would pump up the tire in the morning, and by the time I went to ride home from work I could tell it was a little soft but still inflated enough to ride. I milked it through the end of last week thinking I would fix it over the weekend. Then I completely spaced it off this weekend so I decided to try and milk it one more day. Hopefully I won't encounter a completely flat tire when I go to ride home.

Rolled out of my driveway and realized I forgot to put on my GoPro. I decided to just ride without. A couple blocks away I thought how much lighter I felt than normal, and was amazed that leaving the camera at home would have such an effect. Then it dawned on me that I'd also forgot to put my backpack on and that's why I felt so light.

I quick rode back home and grabbed both the backpack and the camera. I'm glad I figured out the backpack was missing before I got a few miles down the road.
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