I did a half commute today. I was glad to get the morning ride in. It was raw this evening!
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I did a half commute today. I was glad to get the morning ride in. It was raw this evening!
Much warmer than yesterday. I found hubby's old Diamondback lobster claw mitts to put over my cycling gloves. Almost didn't need them. I added a trip to my LBS to my homeward commute to replace my dead cyclometer. I think I'll like the Cateye Enduro I got, but the instructions were terrible. I finally got it programmed and installed. I'm kind of looking forward to timing tomorrow's ride. :)
Decided to bike today. We had flurries earlier in the day but it had stopped by the time I left. It was about 2 degrees celsius out and a bit wet, but not too bad. I had a taxi driver pass pretty close to me though which scared me for a bit. I find that taxi drivers are the worse, not considerate of cyclists. They seem to use the bike/taxi lane even if the other lanes are completely open (when it's not even rush hour), and they seem to always pass pretty close to me.
I'm definitely not a fan of horizontal ice chips! They sting! I probably won't be able to ride tomorrow if it's as icy as I think it will be by morning. I have 2 1/2 commutes this week. Hopefully things will get better by the end of the week.
Deb
Rode yesterday and this morning --same ride, each ride is 42 kms. Temp. around 8-10 degrees C. Though my core and legs were warm, my hands were numb. Here we go again, my Reynauld's condition of fingers tending to freeze at near-freezing temperatures.
I stopped 2/3's of trip to have a coffee and read..a legal text that I've committed to review for a journal. After getting off the bike, my hands were so cold and stiff I had to warm them up for lst 5 min. before I could turn key in my bike lock. :(
It wasn't THAT cold to me...but my poor hands felt it. Might be hauling out more winter gloves later this wk. Geez..
Well, my commute was good, but I got really hot and sweaty on the bike, and when I got to work, I was queazy. All day, nausea came and went but was generally mild. I thought about leaving, but worked instead. Then I rode my evening commute, again feeling really hot. It's around 48ยบ F outside.
Am I sick?
None today. Nasty snowstorm with lots of wind. I wimped out!
Deb
My ride into Bikes-not-Bombs for the Girls-in-Action program was the first in about 2 months. I struggled through the construction zones as usual, but had a pleasant surprise when I got to Roslindale Square, A BIKE LANE has been added. It continues all the way to the Forest Hills T stop, where a new bike cage opened last month. Say what you will about the safety of bike lanes, I felt a tremendous sense of entitlement and validation seeing those bike symbols painted on the street. I believe that drivers may get a subliminal message of "bikes belong here". It was a heady feeling.
Awesome about the bike lane! I have never ridden in a dedicated bike lane (none around here) but I imagine I would feel the same way. Very cool! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by newfsmith
Oh, I agree, it's a great feeling! But please do be careful. Many many drivers, especially if there are few cyclists around, will happily use the bike lane to get into position for that right turn, or as a road shoulder, or to stop and let a passenger off. A bike lane is definitely not accorded the same respect a separate car lane is, in my experience.
Not when they're segregated :D Brisbane City Council's installed a couple of these lanes in the CBD. A great move to improve cyclist safety :)
All things going well, I'll be commuting to work once or twice a week as of next week. I'm really looking forward to it! :D
Max
Went to put my bags on my rack and felt the whole rack shift. Only then did I know that I had lost a bolt attaching the rack to the dropout. Luckily I had an extra in the basement and could fix this but got a late start because of it.
I had a great ride today. It was casual but hard because of the wind. I put my daughter on the weeride (which she loves) and we rode to the mall, did a bit of shopping, then rode to the library, dropped a book off, then we went to the fish store and I bought a couple catfish home on the bike! I wasn't going to but on my way there I realized that the commute was just as smooth as a car ride home and it wasn't that long (15-20 min). they are fine and seem content in my tank. The wind was blowing so hard on the way home. I could have stopped on a flat rode and been pushed backwards. I was soo pooped. Our driveway is a short, steep hill so I yelled for dh to come grab dd because I was too pooped to push her up it lol.Oh well, I'm proud of myself, and we had fun.
loooong.... and sloooow. First ride of the season with studded tires. Ugh. And a wobbly rear wheel. Replacing the bearings and cones didn't work :mad:
Nice ride today. The streets were wet this morning, but not too bad. Tonight was my first ride home in full dark. I'd rather have it dark in the mornings. I'm thankful for good lights!
Deb
I did something dumb and am lucky to be OK!
I had a tangle-up with a transit bus!
I needed to turn right and there was a transit bus in the right turn lane at a bus stop; I waited patiently behind him for the light to turn green (positioned far enough left where he'd be able to see me in his left mirror); when the light changed, he started to go but then stopped; I waited to see what he was doing but when he didn't seem to be doing anything I started to go around him on the left; at that point he decided to pull out and my right grip scraped along the left side of the bus and then briefly caught on the back corner before he pulled past; my handlebar got jerked so that the left grip scraped my left knee. Final tally: scraped knee and a broken right grip.
I guess I was STUPID! I got lucky that nothing worse happened!
Glad you're okay, MDHillSlug!!
((MD)) Glad it wasn't worse! You're not stupid. He would have seen you if he looked. He's the stupid.
Today was a bad day for busses.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDHillSlug
I yelled at one this a.m., for stopping over a crosswalk. The driver looked at me with utter contempt, but otherwise ignored my ranting.
This afternoon, I was nearly run down from behind by one coming through an intersection. I was hustling to get out of his way, but I guess not fast enough for him.
Glad nothing worse came of it, Nicole. I read your post and thought of the young woman who was hit passing a right turning truck in D.C. last year, and that, of course, totally freaked me out. Be careful out there!
two days in a row! YAY
yikes, MD! Not cool about the bus... dumb driver not looking. :(
rode to and from work yesterday. Rode to work today and ran home (only 3 miles away). Will have to drive tomorrow, but will run to work Thursday and ride home. Went by work tonight to get my bike so I could ride tomorrow, but couldn't go in because there was a meeting in my library that I was supposed to be attending. Whoooooops....
Had to drive away fast before anyone noticed me. I hate when my brain fails me.... :(
Another gorgeous day. I'm determined to enjoy each one of them before winter strikes again. I had to wait a long time for a stopped train, other than that it was really nice.
Deb
Chilly. All layers worked w/ exception of fingers. Must figure out a better glove setup.
I, like hoffsquared, had very cold fingers this morning. Any recommendations for good warm gloves for this kind of weather (chilly, low 40s)? I'm not ready to pull the Am-Fib gloves out yet. I came to the conclusion that when I started commuting to work last year, I was totally clueless about what to wear. I didn't have any cycling friends and I didn't learn about TE until earlier this year so buying the right clothes was totally hit and miss for me last year.
I pulled out the Am-Fib gloves for this morning! :oQuote:
Originally Posted by pfunk12
And the (lighter) shoe covers.
Brrr....
Yeah, it was 32 when I head down my little hill onto the bike path. This is my first winter. So I had on fingerless bike gloves under some fleece running gloves. No resistance to wind. Pretty frozen by time I got into work. So I'm looking for suggestions too!Quote:
Originally Posted by pfunk12
Yesterday I wore full finger bike gloves with glove liners underneath and my fingers stayed pretty warm.Quote:
Originally Posted by pfunk12
Louis Garneau Windtex Gloves: http://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._1015275_-1___ Love these things!
Go for the men's though- the women's sizing is very screwed up, and even a size larger is too small for me.
Actually, last Spring, I picked up a pair of mid-weight Castelli gloves from Bonktown. I think they are like these - but last year's version. They seem to be good for days when it's too warm for the Am-Fibs, but too cold for the light weight gloves (the "just fleece liners under bike gloves" option).
Thanks for the suggestions, 7 and Becky! Hmmm...I should probably be working but instead, I'm searching the internet for new gloves and toe covers :D But I decided that if I show up at work and I'm frozen, I can't work because I'm too cold so searching for appropriate biking gear is my priority today. :p
I'll have to check out glove liners but I have a feeling that the gloves that I am wearing are too snug to fit any liners underneath them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MDHillSlug
MDHill! Holy Cow!! I'm glad it wasn't any worse. I also don't think you were being stupid. He should have looked... good grief!
My commute was non eventful this morning, though it has warmed up and is quite pleasant out today. Every time we get nice weather at this time of year, I am ever so grateful!:)
Wait a second? What's going on? Where did the bus thread go? How far back was that? Am I in the twilight zone? Weird...
Yeah, my bus thread is SO yesterday! :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by ginny
I still think that after waiting patiently behind the bus while the light changed I should have been patient enough to wait just a bit more and not have started to go around. That's what I think was stupid on my part.
I wear wool liner gloves underneath the old fashioned knit wool gloves for my cold morning commute. These wouldn't work well in a serious rain or colder than 38 degrees for very long though.
Our winter bike-to-work campaign is up and running, and I've "had" to up my mileage a little :rolleyes: There's this far too fit 60-something guy at work who's recently discovered winter biking. But I'm having a blast. Well, yesterday it was a blast, today my ipod was flat and my butt was sore, so I had to bike in with only the inside of my head for company, but the weather was unexpectedly dry and not cold, so I came in to work humming happily and thinking how lucky I was. And was greeted by my one co-worker who always drives her own car to work, she doesn't live far from me but doesn't even know where the bus stops. "What - are you STILL riding your bike - NOW??"
"Well yes, I ride all winter" I go, "but it's lovely out now, it's not even cold!" "Oh, I could never do that in the morning. Oh no, it's such hard workand I'd get so tired..."
I couldn't stop myself, I just stared at her and said "Come off it! Riding a bike on flat ground and downhill is not hard work!!"
She was very nice and did not get offended at my snotty tone of voice. :D
Commute home was awful. Freezing headwind. Blech.
Does she commute to work by bike or ride at all? Maybe she might be inspired much later.. you never know.Quote:
Originally Posted by lph
We're celebrating our fall bike to work week right now. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=35117
A winter bike to work week in Canada may not succeed much in many parts of Canada. :o It would turn off alot people about cycling. Gotta start gentle, warm-cuddly..for many car-centric areas of Canada. At your end of Norway right now, is it much snow?
Lord, no, she thinks cyclists are insane risktakers :D She's my prime example of someone who can think up any number of reasons to drive her own car, no matter what the occasion. She'll happily regale me with stories of being stuck in rush hour traffic or not finding a parking space, though...Quote:
Originally Posted by shootingstar
Snow flurries in the air, a little slush on the ground in higher areas. I rode studs today, but wish I hadn't. 90 % of my commute is plain asphalt.
I arrived home last night to find DH sweeping out the garage. A bracket to hold the canoe on the wall arrived via UPS and he spent the day re-arranging the garage. We now have - in our tiny mid-60's vintage garage - 4 boats, 3 ladders, a wheelbarrow, various yard tools, a bicycle, various totes, boxes, and what-nots, PLUS his Subaru!! It's an amazing Swiss Army knife set up. And, of course, he said he did it for me, so I wouldn't have to get into a freezing car that had been parked out in the driveway overnight on days when he drives me to Metro. :rolleyes::p
This morning, I took him up on the offer. He drove me to Metro, as I opted to not ride. Boy, was that a mistake. The entire county is in chaos mode, as the computer that controls the traffic lights is on the fritz. The lights work, but are not synchronized to control traffic in-bound to the city. Result = crazy gridlock and insane traffic.
Yesterday I did all the hills on my commute to school for the first time :) I don't think it would be much of a ride for most of you but for me it was really good. I'm so proud of myself.
What were you thinking?!!! :eek:;) I knew something was wrong last evening on the commute home when I arrived at 2 intersections and traffic was chaotic. I kept thinking, "I am sooo glad that I am on my bike and not in a car." I saw the reports last night on the local news. What a mess! I bet you could have gotten out of your car this morning, walked to metro and you would have beat Tom there. :p
Quote:
Originally Posted by 7rider