For me, riding in the rain is more of a safety thing, especially on my commute route (which will never win prizes for its cycling accomodations). I don't mind the wet part.
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For me, riding in the rain is more of a safety thing, especially on my commute route (which will never win prizes for its cycling accomodations). I don't mind the wet part.
Dense fog this morning. Luckily I had a spare Cat Eye flasher in my car. Popped it on the bars, with red light flashing in the back. The ride home was wet. I just missed a huge deluge. My bike and I were covered in grit. Now the cats are mad because they had to wait for me to clean my bike before I fed them.
Tomorrow I lead a Bike To Work Day commuter convoy! I know at least two people will show up. Hopefully more, too. It's only a three mile trip to downtown, so the folks who live around me and work downtown really don't have an excuse...well they have plenty of excuses but few that I accept.
I'll report back tomorrow.
A couple days ago an SUV passed me and the passenger yelled something.
It was very complimentary about the view from behind me. :D
But the most unusual part was I could understand the words!!
(He yelled "Nice a$$". If he'd said it when the students were still in town I'd be dubious, but now that they are gone, it's believable. lol!)
Being able to understand the words reminded me of the Bike Forest video Tips for Cyclists. Hilarious and SO true!!
It was a most lovely morning for a ride in today, what made it all the more enjoyable was stopping along the way for a moment or two to chat with people I know. I love small towns and my short work commute!
So proud of myself. Just started to use my bike to get myself to work in the afternoons for the afternoon school bus take-home. After putting $73 in gas in my jeep a few weeks ago, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I can't do it every day, but I've been doing it even when rain threatens and I don't have something on my schedule afterwards that I have to be on time for.
DH and I ran errands today on our singlespeeds. We hit the post office, the hardware store, and Penney's, and took the long way home to explore another potential shopping route. This new route will allow us to visit our "local food" store and the warehouse club by bike as well.
After a week of rain, it was so nice to be out in the sun, and I love the feeling of getting stuff done on the bike :)
Do any of you actually look for an apartment that is FURTHER away from your most common destinations just to get more miles in?!?!?! I find myself in that predicament now, lol. I REALLY want a 10 mile commute, this 3 miles bull is hardly worth putting on my Sidi's for! Right? Right?!?
Sounds good to me! It also sounds like the weather must be getting really nice there for you to feel this way :)Quote:
Originally Posted by WindingRoad
Yeah, that's why my commuter bike is flat pedals and something I can just jump on to wearing anything, suit, dress, swimsuit. (It also happens to be my only bike, but I predict now that we have a slightly more comfortable income, that might change over the next few years.)
I guess this is a pre-commute story. I was getting ready to leave my building to go home. I hit the elevator button. The elevator came down and when the door opened, one of my co-workers was standing there with a DC Bike Share bike. I was surprised and I said, "Wow! Good for you!" She just looked at me and jokingly said, "Get your own elevator!" as the door shut. :) Seeing someone else with a bike in my building made my day.
today was meant to be my first, real commute (round trip, 24 miles). But last night my chain was all messed up. Thought I fixed it (a friend was walking me through the steps over the phone) then this morning the same mishap occured right as I was pushing off. I'm sure it is a simple fix but my novice self doesn't know what more I can do. I commuted to work today with my bike... on the back of my car so we can head over to the bikestore at lunch. **pout**
At least it didn't happen half-way through my first attempt. I'll try again on Friday if the good weather holds.
rubysoho, It is a simple fix but the simplest fixes are daunting to a novice, whether it is bike repairs or anything else! I had to rescue my daughter one day when her chain slipped and she couldn't get it back on. Although it turned out that it had gotten stuck, which can make it very difficult to put back on.
I have two recommendations. First, at home, put your bike into its lowest gear. Then take the chain off the sprocket (as it would be if it had slipped). Then put it back. Use a rag to handle it so your hands aren't as greasy. After my daughter got stuck, I took the chain off at home and had her put it back on, so that she'd know how next time.
Second, carry a rag with you, so if it slips on the road you don't get quite as greasy.
In the event it does get stuck, I've used various tools to pry it out, if I can't pull it out. I'm sure it's not good on the chain, but I replace it every 1500 miles anyway. Probably the pliers on my leatherman has been most useful in getting it out.
Perfect weather for shorts today. Finally! I took the long way in this morning because I had extra time due to a wicked tail wind.
Stopped in the lbs after work, where they just happened to have a Moots set up in my size; even the saddle was the perfect height. Seems like destiny (or they were expecting me). I'm not falling for it, but I did test ride it. Lucky for me, I hated the saddle! Had they thought to put an An Atomica on it, I may be looking for a new apartment with more bike storage. :rolleyes: The saddle gave me an out, canceling out all the yummy details of the ride with an annoying belch. Nice bike, though.
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Melalvai
Today was my first commute in the rain. Thanks to all the great advice here, it was pretty straightforward. The only problem I had was that I can't seem to get my front fender (installed last weekend) tightened enough to stay in place. It got all wobbly and darn near came off the bike.I had to stop midway through just to tighten it by hand enough to get to work and then it was as loose again by the time I got to work. Will stop by my LBS and see if they can tighten it or fix it if I didn't install correctly.
Rain yesterday, rain tomorrow (yep. I'm a wimp. A fair weather cyclist at best) and more rain this weekend but it's nice today!
Last night I pumped up the tires, picked out clothes (Columbia Titanium capris which I love because the zip thigh pocket is perfect for a cell phone or keys, zip rear pocket makes it easy to grab the train ticket) and an extra shirt, and rode in today.
My ride was pleasant and uneventful, I seemed to hit every light at the right time, generally polite drivers etc.
Left the train two stops early to get another short ride in. There's a station near work but it's a bear to navigate. Easier to leave at the lake and ride the quiet residential streets or around the lake than fight the downtown elevator and traffic. Got in with time to grab a cuppa coffee
I almost drove today because when we're moving and things are so chaotic it is easy to say "I don't have time to bike". But I had time to visit the elementary school to see the bicycle safety thing they're doing, and I was embarrassed to show up there in a car. So I biked.
I was glad I biked, even though it wasn't one of the best rides I've ever had. My destination was north, and there was a STIFF north wind. A car passed me unwisely and nearly had a head-on with oncoming traffic. The very next car to pass honked at me, and the one after that buzzed me! All this on the <1/2 mile short stretch of highway that is the only way to get out of our house-- the highway that is the reason we are moving.
Wow Melalvai, that sounds like a tough commute. I had the wind (20 mph sustained, gust up to 40) but not the scary traffic.
Wow - the stories from the past few days of messed up chains, wind, near misses from cars -etc. all make me appreciate my no frills easy ride to work/school. Five miles, clouds but no rain while riding. New fenders did well.
Cold and very windy. I wished I had worn better gloves and warmer shoes/socks. Still, it felt good to be back on my bike after all this rain.
Deb
Stopped at the LBS on the way home last night and had the fenders reinstalled. I did an okay job on the back fender, but totally botched the front fender. I always considered myself somewhat mechanically inclined so I was pretty embarrassed. :o
However, the LBS owner said I actually didn't do too bad of a job - I think he was kind. He reinstalled the front fender, tweaked the back fender. I am now good to go!
This morning's ride to work was cool - only upper 40s - and very refreshing.
MTA: the LBS owner and I even talked about my Brooks saddle. He liked it! :)
Even more windy today, 30mph with higher gusts. And it had an annoying way of shifting direction or briefly dropping to zero before coming back stronger than ever. I really had to work at staying on a line, not veering (or getting blown) into the high school graduation and Memorial Day weekend traffic on the road with me. This has been quite a spring, weather wise.
DH met me outside my office which led to a 20 mile detour. We went to the hardware store, the sporting goods store, and the AT&T store. missed a squall by going to a Cafe. home now totally beat. whahappened?!
Today was the first day, in my entire life, I biked to work. I got an old mixte a few weeks ago, my first bike in over a decade. It's about as old as I am and I LOVE it.
My bike is awesome and I feel awesome.
Woo hoo ;) :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Antaresia
WIndy commute here, but going through town it's not so bad. I'm feeling yesterday's Entirely Too Sunny metric (backs of my calves are fried)...
Warm and Windy all week this week over this side of the world as well
First week back commuting after a week long break due to the flu - still chesty and a little congested, but I feel so much better being out there on the bike rather than being stuck in a car or on the bus
Hot, hot, hot. 90s for the ride home.
And needed to get groceries at lunch. So it was a perfect opportunity to try out my new insulated grocery bag and ice mat. Kept the stuff in the office fridge all afternoon. Eggs, spring mix, mushrooms, and cheese were the primary "cold" things. Also got some fruit, rolls, and assorted whatnots. Loaded up the bag before I left - cold stuff on the bottom, room temp stuff at the top. Slid it snuggley into my POS grocery pannier. Rode home in the blast furnace. Worked like a champ. Cool stuff remained cool for my 40 minutes on the road. I don't think I'd put ice cream in there, but if I had a lot of frozen stuff (frozen dinners or whatnot), I think it'd be fine. So...a successful first test of my grocery bags in the heat. Yay.
I just started a new thread about my commute, but here's the condensed version: stuff thrown at me, 911, they got caught with a bunch of stolen goods in their car, bad guys off the street. And I had tail winds both ways! Yay.
Whooohooo for tail winds both ways, glad you are safe and was able to do what you needed to do!Quote:
Originally Posted by redrhodie
I commuted to yoga. The sun was finally shining. I took the day off — recovering from our (twin) daughters' graduation on Sunday. After yoga DH & I went fly fishing. It was a splendiferous day!
Deb
In general, had a normal commute, stayed dry as it was mostly cloudy. The morning commute was interesting as all the rivers around here are at or near flood stage. The affect on commuting is that our floating section of the Eastbank Esplanade is near level with the terra-firma section. The ramp in this picture is suppose to be going down:eek: back there.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/...9432016bed.jpg
:D I should note that in the morning light I did not realize just how much the ramp had risen (it's been somewhat up now for over 2 weeks) and actually rode up this thing:p:eek::D
Oh, and they closed this section until the river drops.
Nice ride to/from work. My travel is short as it is about 1.25 mi each way.
I have to laugh though....I ride pretty aggressively on my Trek Pure Lowstep, which is funny because BlueBell is not an aggressive bike by ANY stretch of the imagination. I rode very timidly on my road bike. Go figure. Can't wait to get my BF NWT next month!
Frustrating this morning. A major portion of my route was unavailable due to flooding. I decided not to ride home and sent my bike home with DH. He forgot it was on top of the car and drove into the garage. Ouch. I haven't seen her yet. He took it to the LBS. I hope she can be repaired soon. :(
Deb
Oh no! :(Quote:
Originally Posted by blackhillsbiker
Sorry about your bike, Blackhills. The father of one of my son's racing teammates did this with the kid's team bike about ten years ago. The poor man was mortified. But, I remember that the insurance paid for the bike (it was totaled).
Does riding your bike make you smile?
I was riding in this morning and ended up riding for a while with a woman on one of these. This isn't the exact bike, but is was something equal grin-inducing: Electra Amsterdam-style bike in bright kelly green bike, blue wheels, pink spokes (with Monkey Electric kit in the wheels, she told me, for darkness). She was wearing a skirt, tank top, and sandals. Just looking at the bike, and you had to grin. Utterly utilitarian, yet doesn't take itself too seriously. She insisted I go ahead of her "You're much faster than I" she said. So what? I just enjoyed riding beside her, talking about her bike, and when I left...I left with an ear-to-ear grin.
Because commuting by bike - any bike - is the BEST way to get to work.
I've been at a meeting in Montreal for the past week. Here are my commutes/ errands since I got home.
Last night I rode with my daughter to the park for her audition for the summer musical. She forgot some of the words, but her pitch & tone were good, so she's in. (I think everyone who auditioned got in.)
Today I rode to get my allergy shots & then to work. It was weird coming from the opposite side of town, where our new house is. I hit a cicada with my face. Or it hit me.
Tonight I rode with my daughter to her play rehearsal, because she wasn't sure of the route, then from there I went over to the high school for Community Band, where I played french horn for the first time in 8 years. I'm using one of the school instruments. I managed to get it in my basket! I'm always impressed with how big my basket is! And since it was dark after band, I turned on my Monkey Lights. I'm always impressed with how bright they are!
Wow! I played French horn in college. I can't imagine hauling one by bike.
I took the road bike today. My Kona is still in the shop. I think we went straight from winter to summer. Hot and humid. It was a fun ride, though. She is so fast!!
Deb
Today was one of those mornings that you forget exist in the deep, dark, cold mornings of February, when it's 20 degrees out and you're dressed in 10 layers with goggles to keep your eyeballs from freezing. This morning was mid-70s at 6 a.m. and sticky, sticky, sticky. Was sweating buckets by the time I got to the office. Blech. (The ride home will be even BETTER! :rolleyes::p)