Last commute of the year and I was about to toss in the towel...so sick of areshole drivers. Some punk-arse little sh*t stuck his fat, pasty-white, hairy arse out the window at us. I'm going to become a gun-toting, postal cyclist...
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Last commute of the year and I was about to toss in the towel...so sick of areshole drivers. Some punk-arse little sh*t stuck his fat, pasty-white, hairy arse out the window at us. I'm going to become a gun-toting, postal cyclist...
I got new tires & chain yesterday, my mechanic found the cause of the sticky rear brake cable (a kink), and new rear brake pads. Sadly, my front rim is worn badly and I need to build a wheel (I have a generator hub so it's not as simple as buying a new wheel). But with the tires, my bike has a new spring in her step and twinkle in her eye. She just wants to fly! I took the heavy basket off for the trip to the bike shop (which is 90 miles away), and since I am traveling with her again tomorrow to BikeMO, I didn't bother putting the basket back on, but carried what I needed in a bag. I guess after this weekend I'll find out how much of her energy is new tires and how much is losing that weight.
My daughter is in the marching band and there's a game tonight. On game nights she walks to school, because if she bikes she has to wait an eternity for traffic to clear out. She asked me to walk with her so that she could tell me about her day. As we were walking down the sidewalk, we heard a funny "honk honk" and we both turned around to see a cyclist barreling toward us. I stood where I was and she headed to grass on the right. The cyclist also swerved to the right to pass us and ended up riding straight into her!!
She's ok. I was not going to tell him that he was in the wrong...until he started griping that she shouldn't have moved toward the right. Of course I immediately tore into him all the mistakes he made.
1. Riding on the sidewalk.
2. Riding on the sidewalk at anything above a walking pace.
3. Passing on the right.
The only thing he did correctly was sound a warning. But it did no good because we didn't know what the warning was about and we didn't have time to react.
Other than that it's fairly irritating, there are actually so many things funny about this. A year ago she was on her bicycle and got hit by a truck. (She's fine now.) Then today she's walking and gets hit by a cyclist. Does that mean next year she'll be driving and get taken out by a hoard of marchers, like rock-paper-scissors?
Just before the incident she was telling me how she'd pricked her finger with a pin during Drama-- "Like Sleeping Beauty," she said. Then she took her left shoe off and walked without it, because it gave her a blister. The blister had burst and bled in her shoe. "Like Cinderella's stepsister," I said. Hopefully getting run over by a bicyclist is the end of her minor adventures today! (What fairy tale could this last incident be?)
Poor kid! I will have to do something extra nice for her tonight after the game.
This tale starts last week. My once a week multi-modal commute starts with a ride from town A, through town B, and to town C where I catch a bus at the start of its run. I was almost through town B when I spotted an orphaned woman's running shoe by the side of the road. It's not worth worrying about onesie shoes so I kept going. Fifty feet later, I spotted the other shoe: It was cowering between two traffic lanes like a scared bunny. I stopped, waited for a break in the traffic, retrieved the shoe, and walked back to get the other one. I then noticed I was 100 feet beyond the parking lot exit for a health/fitness club/gym. Aha! Someone must have placed her shoes on the roof of her car, forgotten them, and driven off. So - I biked back to the gym, asked if they had a lost&found, and left the shoes on their front counter.
Problem 1:
As I left the gym, my bike was acting funny - the chain didn't want to freewheel backwards smoothly. I limped the bike downhill to town C where luckily I'm a keyholding volunteer mechanic at a bike co-op. I was able to let myself into the shop, put the bike up in a work stand, and pull out oodles of weeds that had wrapped themselves around the derailleur pulleys. :rolleyes:
Problem 2:
Yesterday, my front brakes started grinding as I passed the gym. Limp to the co-op, and spend an hour picking metal shards out of the brake pads. :mad: This was supposed to be quick ride to the grocery store and back home.
Problem 3:
Today, as I'm approaching the gym, my back tire goes flat. I roll the bike into the gym's parking lot, and discover there's a huge honking nail in the tire! :eek: The nail was through the tire, into the tube, and was poking zillions of holes in the rim side of the tube. 15 minutes, a medium patch on the tread side of the tube, and a monster patch on the other side, and I'm back on the road. I got to the transit center in time to catch the bus I wanted! (Last week I also did.)
So what's next? Why did returning the shoes earn me so much bad karma? :confused:
It's not bad karma. Sometimes the things that slow you down save you from a worse fate.Quote:
Originally Posted by laura*
laura*, if it had been a car it would have cost you even more time and LOTS more money!
Hmmm. So perhaps the flat tire saved me from a tree that leaned over low across a road. The tree must have just tipped - there were no signs of any cars having hit it - no broken twigs, no leaves on the ground. I had to lean down over the handlebars to zoom under it, having noticed it too late to swerve. Except for low slung sports cars, any vehicles would contact at least the leafy twigs.Quote:
Originally Posted by redrhodie
Had a lovely ride to work at dawn, catching a glimpse of the spectacular sunrise behind me. Bike spent the day at the LBS for some well earned tlc and I got to ride home with a clean bike with new chain and cables, and new inner tube in place of the one with a slow leak. We're ready for our big day out in the big city on Saturday.
Windy! I have just a two-mile commute, but on the way home this afternoon I was headed straight into a 20 mph headwind, with higher gusts. Felt like I was standing still, though I was pedaling like crazy! :eek: :D
My taillight hates me. It wants to leave me all the time. :(
The other week, it tried to commit suicide by jumping from my rack when I went over the lip of pavement onto a milled section. Alas, I caught it before it was smooshed by a car, and my LBS set me up with some brackets to re-attach it. This particular light, I attach to the back of the rear rack. Note the bracket on the back, for attaching lights.
Anyway, today the light again tried to commit suicide when the bracket failed, sending the light skittering across the road. Once again, I was able to rescue it. And fortunately, I was able to get home in the evening before dark. I think the bracket was aluminum, rather than steel, and thus softer and weaker. I need to hit up a hardware store for a good angle iron or something.
I love my light. So bright and flashy. I don't know why it hates me so. :confused:
My friend is having the same problem with her taillight. Hers is just a little cheap blinky but it also won't stay attached to the rack and it has left her 3 times.Quote:
Originally Posted by 7rider
I just have to share the irony of a conversation I had this week. A new health and wellness center opened right across the street! They had an open house and I was visiting with one of the yoga and other mind/body class instructors. Bike riding came up and he commented that he only lived two miles away. I commented about how nice that is for his commute and he says "well after my training ride" I don't feel like riding my bike to work. That just threw me for a loop, here was someone who promotes healthy lifestyles but can't ride his bike two miles to his office. To each their own I guess, hope he doesn't run me off the road in his rush to drive to work after his training ride.
The only way I wouldn't ride if my commute was only 2 miles, would be if I walked instead.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky King
So I get all the way down to the first floor by security, and realize I left my ID up at my desk. Grrrrr. So I ride back up to the 13th floor (yes, some buildings have a 13th floor! No superstition with these builders!). I'm wearing my jacket which had my screaming yellow reflective vest over it. Sort of like this:
Co-worker looks at me and asks "off to help school kids cross the street?".
Ha. I agree, grab my ID and leave. It's only while riding the elevator back down again that I realized I should have replied "off to my second job working road construction!"
Oh well. Got home before sundown anyway. That will change next week. :(
Oops.
Glanced at the weather... 0%chance of rain. 47 degrees...so I get dressed and ready to roll.
Double check the weather: 47 is the high. Current temp is 28.
Maybe another layer is in order.
I asked my daughter how she was going to school today. If she bikes or walks, and I don't have an early meeting, I go with her and then go to work. It was cold & rainy and she couldn't decide: bike, walk, or drive? Finally she said "You pick." So we walked.
Not even a block later she said she was glad we walked. The wind in the red & green tree against the dark gray clouds was SO dramatic. The rain was a light sprinkle. We were well dressed for the weather, our faces slightly chilled but the rest of us warm as we worked up some heat.
A few yards after that, a neighbor offered us a ride. Before I could say anything she had said, "No thanks, we're enjoying our walk."
She got to school and I turned around to walk home. The wind had been at our backs and was now driving tiny stinging drops of rain into my eyes. I enjoyed the excitement but she would not have liked that part.
I decided to bike to work, instead of walk. I have the right clothes for biking in cold rain, and it'll save time coming home this evening.
When will I learn to NOT listen to the weatherman? Ugh. I didn't commute today because they said severe storms would be moving into the metro around noon. Tornado/hail type severe storms. I'll ride in rain, but lightning/hail/tornadoes will definitely keep me of my bike, and I knew my DH was working late so he wouldn't be able to come get me if they did move in. It was sunny and beautiful when I left work at 3:45.
Well, they were right. There *were* tornadoes in the southwestern part of the state today, but they didn't even happen until about 3- and they are just now getting to my place at 8 pm. Sigh. I just need to ignore them and ride.... will I ever learn? :rolleyes:
No, you did the right thing. Better safe than sorry when it comes to severe storms. You don't want to end up telling your story on "I Survived" (if you're lucky :eek:).Quote:
Originally Posted by Tri Girl
I'm going in an hour early so I can leave work while it's still light. No reason to ride in the dark if I don't have to. I'm lucky to have a flexible job.
I dawdled and ended up in the nearly dark yesterday afternoon.
I left work in time, but remembered to stop by my old condo to leave a garage door opener out for the BUYER!!! It is pretty exciting to have an offer on the place. And the little piece of darkness will prompt me to find my lights and reflectors and stuff.
It's not so enjoyable now after the time change :( I enjoy starting in the dark and riding into the sunrise, but I don't like riding as much after dark.
I feel EXACTLY the same way. I don't mind morning darkness when drivers are awake and just starting the day. In the evening when they've had a stressful workday and are tired, night riding makes me FAR more nervous.Quote:
Originally Posted by HillSlugger
Plus, I feel like I'm running late in the morning when it's bright as daylight. I've found myself riding faster because I feel like I'm late. No worries- in a month it will be dark both ways. :rolleyes:
Funny. I think this is common. I was just having this discussion with a co-worker as we approached the return to standard time -- that I'd much rather ride in the morning when it's dark than in the evening when it's dark. The one bright spot is (this week anyway), I've been able to wake up and get out the door earlier than normal. Couple with NOT lifting at the gym when I get to work in the a.m., and I'm clocked in early so I can leave early in the afternoon and get home before full dark. But, next week, that likely won't be the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tri Girl
Stopped at CVS after lunch today to pick up some AA batteries for my balky rear light. WOW! :eek: Guess my light wasn't working properly because it needed new batteries. :o That certainly made me feel a bit better about the ride home (and my day-glow road worker's/crossing guards' vest - I get no end to the ribbing from my co-workers over that :rolleyes:).
I'm kind of the opposite.
I want to be home when it is dark. Stay home until it is light and hurry home when it is dark.
I'm definitely in the group that would rather ride to work in the dark.... I had almost a month where it was fully dark when I was leaving before the time change, now it's still pretty dark until I'm almost at work and that will change to dark, dark, dark soon.
There are many fewer drivers out in the mornings, and just fewer people/loiterers in the pre-dawn than in the evenings (a short stretch is through some not-so-nice bits of town) which is also better. Also fewer ninja runners/cyclists out at 6am than at 6pm......
Plus, getting home after dark (and leaving in the am before it gets light), is just a bummer......I have flexible hours and can work from home in the evenings, I'm just not very good at leaving work by ~4pm....
Today reminded me why I like leaving at 6am (even if I hate getting up at 5....).
First couple miles of my commute are on decently busy, fairly narrow streets. At 6am, it's me, a few buses and a few cars. Not so at 8am. I don't mind riding in traffic, but it completely messes up my timing in hitting green lights.....I've got it down so I don't have to unclip unless something really random happens for the first 1.5 miles, but not today. Stop. go. stop. go.
Then I've got ~6 miles of MUP, not too bad at 8 vs 6 (more general public, but fewer obnoxious crew teams who will run 4 across and NOT yield). Had to deal with a headwind, but hopefully it won't shift during the day and I'll have a nice tailwind tonight.
Lastly, it's back into the streets for a mile or so. That stretch is fairly busy regardless of commute time, but bikes on the street go from me plus one or two (early), to me plus 15 obnoxious students (late). Running lights (when the oncoming lane has a green left turn arrow), passing me on the right when I'm stopped at a red light, and (my favorite) passing me when I'm at a light, only to ride REALLY slowly in front of me, so we play leapfrog for a couple lights....
I have to be at work early tomorrow, so no choice on commute times, but I will definitely be leaving at 6 on Wednesday......ugh. Sorry...needed to vent. But it's still (and always) better than the train :)
A pet peeve of mine of other bike commuters.
I'm waiting at a light (or stop sign, but most often a light), just standing there, minding my own business, waiting from my turn to go.
A cyclist comes up behind me - usually unannounced, usually male - and proceeds to go around me and park himself in front of me. Often, it's to run the light/sign, or to "jump" the light (cross light turned red, but our light is a mere second away from turning green).
What makes one think it's okay to come up to someone waiting and cut ahead? Would you do that in a car? Or if I were waiting for a teller at a bank? Would you cut in front of me at the checkout line of a grocery store? Why can't you wait behind me and wait your turn like I am doing? Pass me when we're through when it is safe to do so, as I expect every other vehicle on the road to do.
Grrrrr....:mad:
That's a justifiable pet peeve. I haven't had that done to me, but I bet I wouldn't like it, either.
I hate getting cut off-- especially by people aiming to run the light, and by guys (agree, almost all male) who think they're super fast and I can't possibly be faster than they are...then I pass them, then they cut me off at the next light, etc, etc. I've mostly decided that I'll take it easy for the couple miles between the end of the MUP to work and avoid any of it.
I will stop alongside/slightly ahead of another rider--with the intention of passing them when the light changes, especially when:
a) they're too far right/not far enough forward to block people trying to take an illegal right-on-red at a particular intersection. The green for straight travel (including a nice big wide bike lane) occurs when the right turn lane has a red arrow, so I'll park myself in front of the right turn lane if their arrow has already turned red-- I commute through there in both directions everyday and know the light cycles.
b) I'm also guilty of doing this when the stopped bike has a half-flat back tire, rusty chain, or any of the other common indicators of a student bike....I won't cut them off, but use the bike lane as if it has two lanes and I'm in the left lane waiting to start out. 99.9% of the time I start/travel faster than they do, and I feel like it's safer to pass them when they're not weaving all over the bike lane as they tend to do...
On that note, it's time to ride home :)
I'm off work this week, and I'm really going to miss commuting. I've already planned an epic ride for later in the week to make up for missed saddle time. ;) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and today I did something unusual for transportation. I didn't bike. For the most part, I didn't walk either. Yes, I drove a car.
If I'd had a great experience with it I wouldn't write about it on this thread. But I'm going to tell about because it was such a NOT great experience. Once in a while, I try to turn to the car, I'm not sure why. It seems like cheating and sometimes I want to indulge in cheating, eating crappy food and using crappy transportation. Why does it feel like indulging when it's really not?
My daughter was in the school play, and performed this weekend. The last week of rehearsals have gone at least 6 hours a night. Several times we picked up her and her bike. Toward the end of the week, after her bike was tampered with late at night while she was at rehearsal, she left the bike home and either walked to school or we drove her.
This morning, the play is over, no more rehearsals, but she was exhausted. Her backpack is ridiculously heavy so she doesn't like to walk. (It's less than a mile.) So I drove her to school.
Then I was supposed to meet some people at the state park (10 miles) and I hadn't gotten around to arranging for a ride. It's ridiculous that all 6 of us drove separate vehicles out there. But...we did. Usually at least some of us carpool. I thought we were walking through the 0.5 mile section of the future trail, which is not exactly a path but we have at least been through it and tied ribbons on the trees and cleared away the brush so it really doesn't take too long to hike it out and back. But it turned out we were walking the other part, which is 4 miles, and the purpose of today's walk is to get information so we can decide on a route.
It was a LOT of fun, but it took 5 hours. And I wasn't back in time to pick her up from school. I had no cell phone signal most of the time. Eventually I got a little and sent a text to her dad asking him to meet her there and help her carry her books.
We all survived, but driving back I wished that I hadn't encouraged her to ride in the car this morning, and that I had carpooled (which would have involved biking to meet someone), instead of driving. Then the car would be at home and neither of us would have been depending on it.
So it's not a huge big deal but just enough of an inconvenience to push me back to wanting to bike instead of drive.
Saw a bumper sticker on a car in my office's parking garage:
"Hate driving in traffic? You ARE traffic!"
Funny, I think that line would work better on the back of a bike jersey than the back of a car.
Two humorous incidents on Monday. I dropped our car off for servicing, as I walked in the man behind the counter says "you made it" I have never been to this shop before as the DH usually takes it in, so I said, oh, did you recognize the car? He says "no I saw you get your bike out of the car and knew immediately which appointment you were" then he shared with me the best way to get to the MUP :)
2nd humorous? moment - after leaving the mup, I have a fairly busy street with a major intersection that I ride through. prior to the light a right hand turn lane appears necessitating that I change lanes in order to continue going straight. I look over my left shoulder, see traffic but it is far enough back that I signal and move to the left. I hear a horn honk??? so I just waved and decided to take the high road that they were approving of my signal and my bright green jacket as there weren't any cars close enough for them to be concerned that I was "cutting" them off. :) In fact the light turned green just as I approached so I kept on pedaling and was through the intersection before any of the cars that had been behind me when I changed lanes even caught up to me.
Wow, was it warm today! I got sweaty. Weird November.
You rode!
Yay you!!
I got plenty of exercise coughing.
Boy am I getting beat up. Construction on both sides of the blvd; metal plates, potholes, bad repairs and cut road sections for pipe that are poorly filled. Lots of debris. Dirt and mud. Getting fenders in my alu Fuji road bike would be quite a trick if I use wider tires so it's been fun trying to stay clean going to work (no showers). It really needs some 32c tires or greater, but it won't take more than 28c because of frame and brakes. So I go to the REI to buy some 28c tires for whatever relief I can get. Almost ready to call it quits but I love commuting. My commute is a straight line down that street so avoiding it would take me way out of my way.
REI was strangely not as busy as I thought it would be, so I took time and walked around the bikes. A steel commuter that can take wide tires and fenders would be nice. And I really don't mind going slower on a heavier bike at this point. They had a clearance sale, so I ended up buying the Novara E.T.A. size small, and fitted my lights, saddle, seatpost and pedals on it yesterday. Yea it's heavy, but the gearing range works in it's favor. No fenders yet, but I am looking into which ones to get. Rode it around the house, wow what a difference, almost feels like suspension. Most of the extra poundage feels like the wheels and tires, maybe one day I will get a lighter wheelset (29ers will work on this hybrid frame) if I can find a good sale. The 35c tires feel stable in the sand and lose pebbles from the construction sites. Just need to lower the stem a bit and it will be ready for next week. Yea!
I can't wait to hear if you really ride that much slower, you may surprise yourself. The 35C's should make your commute much more enjoyable. I suggest you take a look at the SKS longboards or a simple planet bike fender to complete this great new commuter bike!Quote:
Originally Posted by tzvia
well, it rained last night and most of today- it was pouring this morning, so I took the truck to work :(.
It just started raining again. Supposed to rain more tomorrow. Gonna stop by the LBS tomorrow after work- they have the Planet Bike fenders in the 'Hybrid' size in stock. They should work well. While I don't plan on riding in the rain, I would like to not worry about getting mud thrown up on me after, with all the dirt having been washed into the bike lane.
I am starting to miss the hot summer...
I got studded tires (Schwalbe Marathon Winters, carbide studs) on Sunday. I immediately switched from dreading the cold to I can't wait for snow and ice!! And therefore the forecast is rain and upper 30's for the next two weeks.
Since they are carbide studs I can ride on regular pavement, which is good, because I wasn't sure I'd be up for switching the tires out every time the weather changed, and what would I do if it was snowy in the morning and clear in the afternoon? So I'm riding on the studded tires right now.
My bike is not light, quiet, or fast. It's a commuter bike, and I have a rack, an enormous basket, jingle bells-- and when I re-built my front wheel with the new rim, I dropped 2 spoke nipples inside. So they rattle.
It's now noisier, heavier, and slower than ever before, with the studded tires!
Tzvia that sounds like a pretty nice bike! It will be great for gnarly commutes.
Today's commute was warm actually, kinda nice, wish this weather would hold out for a while but I'm sure the nasty stuff is coming. :rolleyes: I had a driver scare the crap out of me though. Apparently she didn't see me until she started to pull out and then she hit her brakes at the last minute. :eek:
Well, I got in some 4 rides on the Novara. Yea, I'm slower, by about 6 or 7 minutes each way. Expected. I can feel the tires spin up due to the extra weight there. But being 35c and having a steel frame just made it absorb the potholes and metal DOT plates. Sand was no biggie.
That's the good. The bad? Maybe not bad, but I gave that mustache bar 4 rides and I just don't like it. I've got an MTB riser bar in the garage, so I put that on, then went to shorten the cable housings and...
I should have guessed. The brakes felt a bit mushy, but I chocked it up to the extra weight on the bike being harder to slow, and this being my first cable disk brake bike, was not sure how it should feel. When I went to shorten the cables, I discovered that the REI idiot who assembled the bike used derailleur cables :eek::eek: for brake housing. If anyone here likes to self-wrench as I do, please remember- never do this. Brakes use higher cable pressure than shifting, and require the housing that uses the flat metal that wraps like a barber pole around the inner sleeve. That housing can be used for shifting in a pinch, but will increase resistance so may impact shift quality. But using the shift housing -bunch of lengthwise stands- for braking is dangerous. The pressure will make the strands bow out (mush mush) and they can fail - make your brakes fail - when you really need them.
So I replaced the housing, of course. And the mushy brakes became just wonderful. Now the bike feels like a nice cro-mo rigid mtb. So I ordered up a wheelset from PROWHEELBUILDER, nothing fancy but over a LB less than what is on the bike now and will be using a Ultegra 12~27 that I have in my spare parts bin. Heck, I might even throw a 11~34 on the original wheelset and some cx or 1.8 29er tires for trail riding next summer. That should be fun.
Oh- and i took the truck to work the latter part of last week, as I don't trust the pre-holiday drunk drivers.
Sigh.
I can tell when I've "fallen off the wagon" and haven't been commuting regularly.
I tend to forget to pack very critical things in my bag and I'm faced with a moment (or day) of panic as I'm standing there, in the locker room, ready to jump in the shower, and have a freakout, thinking, "OMG, where is my (fill in the blank)?????" :eek::eek::eek::eek:
If practice makes perfect, lack of practice makes you look like an idiot. :rolleyes: