How Was Your Commute Today?

[kimikaw]

Only a half commute for me today. Hubby called around 4, said he'd be in the area of my office at 5ish...and that it was raining, did I want to be picked up. Yep, low 40's and raining, not my thing. Jumped at that.

But the morning commute was great. Mid-30's when I took off. Have some great Pearl Izumi winter tights, nice wool socks. Nothing too heavy on top, a base layer and a thermal type jersey plus windbreaker. May need to look for warmer gloves tho', fingers a bit chilly.

One big change was I fully aired up my tires. I commute with an "all-trail" hybrid that I've also been taking on dirt trails on weekends. Just got the bike a couple of months ago. Thought the tires said 35-50psi - so been keeping it just under 50 for the commute. Over the weekend, I knew were we going to be on a bit more technical (tho' still beginner-ish) singletrack, and took the air down to 35. When I was pumping it back up, I saw the tires (700c by 45) said 35- 80psi. Oops. Could feel the difference. Either that or I'm getting a bit stronger. Maybe both, but climb some of the hills a gear or two higher than usual, and had a lower heart rate than usual. Maybe a touch of both????

Oh, one question:

In cold weather my eyes water like crazy. Anyone wear goggles? How about goggles over prescription glasses? ANy recommendations, so I don't have tears running down my face the whole way. They're a bit cold!

[blackhillsbiker]

Currently 18° with a high later in the mid-to-upper 60°s. Makes dressing for the day a challenge.

Deb

[malkin]

Brrrr!

[7rider]

Last commute with evening light, as we turn our clocks back on Saturday night.
Entering into a state of mourning, and already pining for the Solstice!

[out_spokin']

Answer for kimikaw - yes, I picked up a pair of Smith ski goggles for last year's winter commutes, and wore them in the under 15 degree situations. I usually just wear wrap-around style sunglasses (Smith Factor Max, usually with the clear lenses this time of year) but in the real cold I can't keep them from fogging up. The goggles worked amazingly well. Kept my face warm, tear-free, and fog free.

[redrhodie]

Last night's commute was dark. I had an hour to get to my car before sunset, but with the cloud blanket, it was pretty dark right from the start. First ride of the season with a helmet light. Added my extra blinky, too.

In the morning, some guys on 'cross bikes were riding behind me, so I held up and let them pass. Then they slowed a bit and were riding at my speed, so I stayed with them, happy to have some shelter from the headwind. We were on the bike path. At the first street crossing, the first guy called out "clear" and the second guy and I went through. I had been talking to the second guy, so they knew I was there. At the next street, first guy goes through, not saying "car", the second guy doesn't say anything, just brakes hard, and I nearly rear end him. Luckily I was already preparing to turn off the bike path, and they were going straight, so I had just enough room to squeak by and not hit him. That coulda been really embarrassing. My own fault for riding too close to strangers.

[Tri Girl]

My first commute in weeks was this morning. Why, oh why did I just not "suck it UP" and do it the last few weeks? I LOVE commuting in the morning and have really missed it. I can't wait until after work when I'll stop at the grocery store and pick up some dinner on the way home. Riding is really the BEST!
I *was* slightly disappointed this morning because it was so light outside (I know- don't hate me for saying that). I got a new light mounted on the bike and it was so light I couldn't use it. No worries, it will be pitch black again in a couple weeks and I'll get to use it to light the night.

Tomorrow I have to take the dog to the vet, and I can only accomplish that by driving (the vet is 20 miles away). I'll ride the rest of the week, tho- even through the rain they're predicting on Thursday and Friday.

Last year I came across some really cool looking "goggles" that weren't very goggle-like. I didn't buy them, and now I cannot find them. I'm off to search the interent in hopes of finding them again..

[radacrider]

Awesome commute - despite some cold, drizzle, head wind and darkness. Today's ride started dry and was the maiden voyage for using a pannier and my new B&M Ixon IQ headlight.

Portland has had some serious rain the past week, and on and off showers. The leaves are so pretty to look at, not so great to ride through. Several sections I had to signal and ride outside the bike lane area, no issues with the drivers.

To work, dry and felt really good, climbing my 7 miles out of downtown toward work (350+ feet of constant uphill), love the new 170mm cranks, just feel like I can find that good RPM and pace. (Swapped out the 175mm stock cranks a bit ago). Except for the really slow points, the single sided pannier was not noticeable and my back loved not having my stuff on it for 15 miles.

Just before I left work for the ride home, there were several downpours and I was questioning whether riding to work was a smart thing. Then, as if someone was going easy on me, it all let up and there were actually some breaks in the clouds. It was getting dark, though, leaving at about 4:30pm. I knew I would be in dark soon.

The 7 mile back down Barbur toward Portland was nice, though I probably rode slower because the shoulder has some random dips, leaves and other junk. Again, drivers were pretty cool when I signaled to move left into the traffic lane in order to avoid the piles of wet leaves.

The B&M Ixon IQ was great - not only was I seen, but I could actually see the road, a good thing with it being wet, strewn with leaves and all. Just needs a bit of tilt adjustment, but a great light.

The best thing was I had several sections where I hit that amazing rhythm of speed, pedaling and not feeling like I was exerting a lot of energy. Brought back some great memories of when I rode a lot some 15 years earlier. Cycling nirvana for sure.

[blackhillsbiker]

Enjoyed the warm day today (rumored to be the last one in awhile), but I forgot to plug in my headlight charger, so I had to ride home with my light on the low setting. It wasn't too bad, although I prefer the bright light. It wasn't full dark. That'll be in a couple of weeks. I now have a note on my computer screen (love the Mac OS Stickies) to remind me to charge it when I get to work. Guess I need to find the rest of my wool tonight. Yawn. It always takes awhile to get used to the time change.

Deb

[colorisnt]

Commuted to day and it felt great! I thought I would have to drive just because of a doctor's appointment, but I decided to come in early to help a student and I will just commute from here to there and then go to class!

So glad to do it! Felt amazing - perfect weather. Except for the butthead who pulled out in front of me last time and again this morning, I did great!

[7rider]

Holy smokes. Where did that fog come from this morning???

[pfunk12]

I loved it! It was sooooo quiet this morning and so pleasant. Wonderful way to start the day. Now...time to work.

Holy smokes. Where did that fog come from this morning???

[Melalvai]

I biked to work today! For such an uneventful ride and common occurrence, I have a lot to say.

I was a little nervous but the bigger problem is my brain kept wanting to go "there", until I saw someone I know walking his 2 black dogs. (I recognize the dogs first every time.) He said "You're on your bike!" intelligently and I laughed "Yeah!" (Afterward he felt dumb for saying such an obvious thing but it didn't seem obvious to me exactly!) That broke the loop and I was able to enjoy the rest of my ride and my swim.

Coming home for lunch was a little nervous again as I made that fateful left turn. I was prepared to pull off the road and cross it on foot, but there was no traffic at all.

In the evening I was a little nervous again because there was so much traffic. I kept looking behind me. I remembered during my LCI training, the instructor told me that I needed to scan more, and I thought "I bet I'm scanning enough for him NOW".

After the morning ride, the bigger problem continued to be that my brain just wanted to go "there" when I was on my bike. I assume that will get better.

Another first today is that my daughter did her first full day of school since her wreck (Friday she went in the afternoon). I thought she'd be exhausted but she had more energy than I did tonight.

[Catrin]

Congratulations on your successful commute! This was a great step, and perfectly understandable why your mind kept wanting to go "there".

[pfunk12]

Congrats, Melalvai! On both your commute and your daughter's full day at school.

Today was the first time that I commuted to work when it was actually raining. I've been caught in the rain many times during my commutes but if it's raining at 5:30 a.m., I normally don't take the bike. But I've purchased some rain gear recently and it was time to use it.

It was a great commute. I felt like I was the only one out there and actually...I was until I got to the Lincoln Memorial and I saw 2 other cyclists. Another peaceful, quiet morning. It wasn't raining too hard when I started but it really started to come down when I got to Georgetown (about mile 10).

I LOVE my new Showers Pass jacket and I LOVE my new OverBoard waterproof backpack.