How Was Your Commute Today?

**Tri Girl** · 10-25-2009, 01:16 PM

I live in NW OKC (The Village to be exact). Very cool- we're neighbors!!!

Riding in Edmond is brave, indeed! You must live fairly close to the college/downtown area if you ride to the Library. Anytime I see someone on a bike using it for utilitarian purposes around here I get VERY excited!

Yes- the wind is definitely something to contend with on a daily basis. No hills- but I think I'd rather have hills than constantly blowing wind. At least with hills you get stronger and get to coast- I've yet to get stronger riding into the wind.

**SLash** · 10-25-2009, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by Tri Girl

I live in NW OKC (The Village to be exact). Very cool- we're neighbors!!!

Riding in Edmond is brave, indeed! You must live fairly close to the college/downtown area if you ride to the Library. Anytime I see someone on a bike using it for utilitarian purposes around here I get VERY excited!

Yes- the wind is definitely something to contend with on a daily basis. No hills- but I think I'd rather have hills than constantly blowing wind. At least with hills you get stronger and get to coast- I've yet to get stronger riding into the wind.

LOL, I don't know how brave I am, but I am very careful!

I live just east of Bryant on the northern side of Edmond and to get to the library I cut through neighborhoods and go through campus so it isn't too bad. When I am riding the road bike I go north and either east or west to get out of town where there is less traffic and more open road. For the most part drivers around here are okay, e.g., when they pass they give us enough room. When they don't, I sometimes find myself flipping them off with 3 fingers (Give us the 3 feet of space BY LAW you are required to!)

I'm sure they wonder what that crazy woman is doing!!

We have the law (and in Edmond a city ordinance) but the public still doesn't know about it so I feel it is my civic duty to educate them when I can!

**Biciclista** · 10-26-2009, 08:07 AM

Not wanting to drown, i went to work in a metal can with an internal combustion engine powering it.

**7rider** · 10-26-2009, 04:36 PM

Note to self: Add "non-emergency" police number to my cell phone.
Today, I was riding home, I crossed a main road and hopped onto a MUT, which I ride for about 2/10ths of a mile, before getting off and back on side streets. As I got on the MUT, I saw 2 young boys (maybe 14 y.o.?) ahead of me, coming towards me: One on a bike, the other walking, carrying a skateboard. As I got closer, preparing to ring my bell, the cyclist jumps off his bike, throws it to the trail, and runs towards the woods on the edge of trail. His friend goes towards him. He's yelling something, I can't make out.."Hey - Hey." or some such. He picks up a LARGE branch - maybe 10' long by about 4" diameter. He's yanking it out, back towards the trail, getting agitated and excited. Suspecting that no good would come out of that, and having no desire to tangle with the business end of that stick, I shifted up and sprinted onward. I really didn't want to lose my bike. Or worse. Further up the trail, safely out of their reach, an older woman is standing in the trail with a small boy, maybe 4 years old. She's glaring back down the trail, towards the two young teens.
As I approached, she said, "There's no need for that cursing."
I stop. "Excuse me?"
"Those two. There's no need for that. They're cursing. They said, 'I'm gonna kill you.' There's no need for that cursing."
"No good rotten punks." I replied.
"Yes," she said, and she gathered up the small boy and they walked off the trail, through some trees towards an apartment building.
I shiver and continue on. I rarely run across "problems" on the trail, although I did one time see about 5 p.o.'s with a person 'cuffed and on the ground on that trail. I don't think my situation merited a call to 9-1-1, but I think the police should know if a couple of punks are tormenting folks on a MUT. I suspect that they look down on that sort of activity.

**pfunk12** · 10-26-2009, 04:41 PM

Whoa, 7...glad to hear that you didn't have to dial 9-1-1. That was a weird incident. You were smart to pick up the pace and get away from there. Don't even want to think about what they were going to do with the branch!

**Shara** · 10-26-2009, 05:04 PM

That was quite the odd incident! I'd have gotten out of there too and probably called the non-emerg #.

My ride was wet. I took my mom's car in the a.m. because it was pouring and I was late. I had a meeting in the afternoon so I rode back to school for that because it wasn't raining but as soon as I got on the road it started to POUR and then hail

I got to a gas station and holed up for a couple minutes before heading out again. I don't have appropriate clothes or fenders or anything so I was a wet rat. Then I get there and it stops and a rainbow comes out. lol AND I find out my appointment has been cancelled. So I ride home and guess what - it's raining again.

**blackhillsbiker** · 10-26-2009, 08:04 PM

Frost on everything this morning. It was really pretty, but very cold. Tonight I couldn't ride home because of a meeting, then a choir concert at the high school. I had to leave my bike in my husband's office. We picked it up after everything was done. I wanted to ride home, but the path down that end of town is not very nice late at night. Oh well. I got in half-a-commute.

Deb

**Biciclista** · 10-27-2009, 05:52 AM

I can't believe I rode to work this morning! but i did!! everything wet from the rains yesterday and the day before, chilly (about 40)
might be my last commute for a while.

**indigoiis** · 10-27-2009, 07:52 AM

I rode 11 miles this morning to the bus and was distracted by the crunchy leaves and lovely sunrise...

**IvonaDestroi** · 10-27-2009, 08:23 AM

Yesterday I flew the 4 miles to work with no wind to slow me down! 25 min. which usually takes me 35 min. (due to a wind tunnel main street, a million red lights, and crazy downtown drivers)...

Today's forecast: 50mph gusts of ice cold wind... this should be fun... somehow I don't think I'll make as good of a time...

**redrhodie** · 10-27-2009, 02:16 PM

I did a half commute today. I was glad to get the morning ride in. It was raw this evening!

**blackhillsbiker** · 10-27-2009, 07:38 PM

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.

**bikecanada** · 10-28-2009, 11:48 AM

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.

**blackhillsbiker** · 10-28-2009, 04:08 PM

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

**shootingstar** · 10-28-2009, 04:21 PM

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..

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