Bicycle Commute Challenge

[kfergos]

Day 1, Evening Commute (20 miles):
Amazingly enough, I had a headwind! This felt so not fair, since I'd struggled against a headwind all morning, and had spent most of the day anticipating a nice easy ride home. Silly me. I left wearing a vest, but when I got to the UW -- there's a stoplight there that takes forever -- I changed into my jacket because I was so cold. I later was quite glad that I did that, because it was raining hard by the time I got home. I was extremely miserable and regretting my decision to ride yesterday.

All in all, Day 1 of Bike to Work Month pretty much stank for commuting by bike.

Day 2, Morning Commute (20 miles):
Amazingly, relatively calm (yesterday's wind gives a different perspective; I might complain about a 10 mph to 15 mph headwind normally, but after yesterday, it's a mere breeze) and scattered sun breaks lit the morning up. After last night's scouring thunderstorm, everything looked freshly-scrubbed and clean. Lots more bike commuters out today, all of them faster than me. I resisted the urge to do some commuter racing, reminding myself that I was on mile 60 by the time I got to work, and I still have 140 more to go this week. Most of those zippier cyclists probably aren't riding that many miles.

Amusingly, got honked at AGAIN in the exact same spot as yesterday. What is it about S. Dearborn and people thinking cyclists have to ride in that bike lane, which is full of debris, parallel cracks, and storm drains? I'm hoping to go 3 for 3 tomorrow -- let's see how long I can keep the streak going.

Ravenous again when I got to work. Not sure why I'm hungrier than usual; maybe riding against the wind burns more calories? One Clif bar doesn't seem to cut it. Good thing I have oatmeal raisin walnut cookies at work, too.

[Melalvai]

Amusingly, got honked at AGAIN in the exact same spot as yesterday. What is it about S. Dearborn and people thinking cyclists have to ride in that bike lane, which is full of debris, parallel cracks, and storm drains?

They don't realize that. The good thing is that if they are honking at you, they are seeing you. Better to be honked at or yelled at than hit.

On the other hand, getting honked or yelled at is demoralizing. IMO it is the worst experience about bicycling. So I go ahead and note every license plate and report it through our Motorist Contact Program. Check and see if your city or state has that sort of thing. I don't care what the result of that is, it is just incredibly empowering to report the incident, however minor.

You might also check if there's a place to report debris in the bike lane. Our city has a website, you can report debris and in my experience it gets cleaned up promptly.

I have a spot like that in one of my regular routes, where I was taking the lane appropriately and getting honked at. I found an alternative way to handle the area without feeling like I was sacrificing my safety. Or I might look for an alternative route. But sometimes there isn't any other realistic option, or the other options are worse.

Good luck, and kudos for riding in bad weather!

[kfergos]

They don't realize that. The good thing is that if they are honking at you, they are seeing you. Better to be honked at or yelled at than hit.

On the other hand, getting honked or yelled at is demoralizing. IMO it is the worst experience about bicycling. So I go ahead and note every license plate and report it through our Motorist Contact Program. Check and see if your city or state has that sort of thing. I don't care what the result of that is, it is just incredibly empowering to report the incident, however minor.

Melalvai, that's a good point -- I'm glad they are at least seeing me to honk at me! I don't assume they know there's debris/danger in the bike lane, but I'd appreciate some leeway.

The same guy honked at me this morning. Thanks to your suggestion, I remembered to get his license plate number, and I'll try to find somewhere to report this. It's amusing that he's honking, too, because honking is illegal except in an emergency here in Washington. So he's breaking the law while erroneously telling me I'm breaking the law.

Day 3, Evening Commute (10 miles):
Rode west on the I-90 bridge to do an errand in Bellevue after work. Holy moly, I'd forgotten the crazy west wind on the bridge! Why does it seem like there's always a wind blowing to the west on the I-90 bridge, almost regardless of which way the rest of the wind is going? Anyway, it was a slow and grueling ride into Bellevue, riding south and west against a southwest-ish wind. Happily, it didn't rain on me, so I completed my errand dry and comfortably. Still, I'm glad it was only 10 miles. My legs felt like cooked spaghetti.

Day 4, Morning Commute (20 miles):
An amazingly nice morning. Virtually calm (What a relief!), with high clouds and not many people out for some reason. I took it easy and rode at a gentle 13.9 mph pace -- not exactly smokin', but it was pleasant to arrive not exhausted. Found a pair of sunglasses on the I-90 trail that looked like they'd just fallen, since they were in perfect repair. If you lost a pair of sunglasses on I-90 this morning, let me know.

As I mentioned above, the guy in the pickup truck honked at me again and spurred me to write this blog post. I'm going to grab some of the stickers we have that has the RCW number for "bikes are vehicles" and carry them with me. This is 3/3 being honked at this week in this place. It's so odd: I've ridden this route numerous times without a problem, and suddenly this week I'm honked at every time I ride on that road. Something to do with Bike to Work Month? Random chance? Who knows? I'll just keep riding and see what happens.

[Biciclista]

This has been a rather exciting commute week, hasn't it? For me it was wind and thunderstorms on tuesday, narrowly missing a hailstorm, then yesterday it was a steady rain, not heavy at least. Today MIGHT be the first day this week I don't get rained on.
I am impressed that you got that guy's license plate number. could you tell me how you do that???

[kfergos]

This has been a rather exciting commute week, hasn't it? For me it was wind and thunderstorms on tuesday, narrowly missing a hailstorm, then yesterday it was a steady rain, not heavy at least. Today MIGHT be the first day this week I don't get rained on.
I am impressed that you got that guy's license plate number. could you tell me how you do that???

It really has been a heck of a commuting week, and alas, not the best for encouraging non-commuters to try riding, either.

To get the license plate number, I read it -- he was ahead of me but not far away for quite a while, thanks to traffic; I'm not 100% sure of the last digit, thanks to my out-of-date glasses prescription -- and then just kept repeating it to myself. That only worked because this happened mere blocks from my work, where I was able to write it down real quick before I forgot it.

[Biciclista]

I actually have a pen and paper in my handlebar bag... but so far, going from an incident to getting to that pen has never happened.
thanks

[kfergos]

Day 4, Evening Commute (20 miles)
I GOT MY BIKE BACK!!!!!!1

The bike shop, we'll call it Shop A, built me a new fork (pearlescent pink to match my fenders) and a new front wheel, put on a pair of handlebars I already had, and gave me a new stem. Frankly, though, I'm not satisfied with my experience there. I had to call them probably 10 times over the last month and a half to get updates; they only once called me back, despite repeatedly promising to give me an update. They built the fork and waited to do all the other work after it was done, even though they could've done everything else (build the new wheel, put on the handlebars and stem) beforehand and then just slapped the fork in. They had questions for me that held it up, but they never called me -- I had to call them and then they said, "Oh, we were waiting because we need to know if we can go with X instead of Y." WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST CALL ME AND ASK?! They wrapped the bar tape so badly part of the bare bar is sticking out, and although I asked them to paint the new stem to match the fork, they didn't do that (by the time I found out, I decided just to live with it because it'd take so long to get the darn thing painted). Their customer service, in a word, sucked.

Now I feel like I need to have somebody I trust go over their work to make sure that everything's done right. The brake/shifters look twisted to me, and I don't think the handlebars and front wheel are aligned right.

Anyway, I rode home on the repaired bike and it wasn't the heavenly experience I hoped for, but I have to give them credit for building a really nice fork. It was a nice evening but with a steady headwind. Is a pattern emerging here...?? Oh, rode up Dexter and then got stopped for the first time ever at the Fremont Bridge as they opened it to let a boat through. Alas, I didn't really get a view. I think all of Seattle was out on the BG between Fremont and the UW.

Day 5, Morning Commute (20 miles)
Gorgeous morning. Sunny, clear, tailwind () most of the way; through the haze I saw the Olympics, Mt. Rainier, and the Cascades. I caught up with my mother, who had left the house a bit earlier than me but was gawking at the mountains. We rode together through Kirkland to Bellevue Way, where we split off (she sang "You take the low road and I'll take the high road..." because she rode up Bellevue Way and I turned onto Northup). So it was a very nice start to the ride. The tailwind was delightful, it was sunny, and I was on my almost-finished repaired bike. Things could hardly get better. I am having to readjust to the gearing on my bike, which is low but not nearly as low as the rental bike. I'm having to work harder on my normal bike, but I'm also going faster, so...

At least, so I thought. Then I got a free jersey at one of the Cascade swag giveaway stops. Granted, it says F5 really big all over it, but free's free.

Then things got really uncomfortable. I rode up to my work doorway -- it's also a bike parking facility -- and a guy was standing there. He was fairly short and skinny, had long-ish curly blond hair, huge sunglasses and a bandanna on, and wore a "Hempfest" T-shirt. Since he was right in the doorway and I couldn't avoid him, I said, "Hi."

Him: Oh, um, hi, I can't get in.
Me: Do you have your card?
Him: [Pulls out a card and swipes. Sure enough, it doesn't work] I just want to get in and get my bikes. I have a Schwinn and a Kona in there.
Me: OK, well, I can't let you in if your card doesn't work. (This is the parking facility's rule, and I'm not about to break it for a stranger in a hempfest T-shirt.)
Him: I just want to get my bikes. My bikes are in there.
Me: I believe you, but I can't let you in.
Him: [Stares at me]
Me: It opens at 9:00. You can come back then and get your card reactivated.
Him: But...dude...I just want my bikes.
Me: I can't let you in. Please step away from the door.
Him: [Doesn't move]
Me: Could you please move away from the doorway so I can open the door?
Him: [Saunters over to the other side of the doorway, away from the card swipe] I'll hold the door for you.
Me: No, please don't. Step away from the door.
Him: [Doesn't move. We stand there looking at each other for a while.]
Me: [I decide to swipe in and see what happens, since I have to get in eventually]
I swipe the door start to maneuver me and my bike through the door. He grabs the door and holds it. I look at him, then start to walk in. He goes to follow me inside. I stop and say:
Me: You can't come in. Don't come in.
Him: I just want my bikes.
Me: I can't let you in. Don't come in.
He steps closer. I put my hand on his chest and physically push him away.
Me: NO. GO AWAY. You can't come in. (I had to say this quite loudly and firmly, although inside I was freaking out)
He pauses, looking confused, and I rush myself and the bike inside, pulling the door closed behind me. I've never felt better about hearing that door lock shut behind me.

Whew. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Working in Pioneer Square is never boring.

[shootingstar]

Kerfogos: I'm glad you got in without him.

Didn't you work there or still do? If so, say that you are an employee and you will report anything unusual.

Sometimes one has to tell a white lie...in case, he threatened you physically.

This is no different than a friend who I knew was cycling solo in Ireland who was trailed by a car with a guy or asked about herself: she fibbed that her husband was up ahead on her on bike.

Good that your bike is repaired but it would have been better if it ran more smoothly. Did you have to pay the high rental amount for the other?