How Was Your Commute Today?

[Tri Girl]

Oh no, MD!!! Ouch!!!
I'm glad you're OK. Both times I have gone down it has been so fast that I never had a chance to think about how to "brace" myself best for impact and my head hit hard both times.
I guess you got the first "real" crash out of the way, eh?
Take care of yourself!!

[bunny_ninja]

OUCHIE!!! take aleve or advil, for sure. I often get the most pain -- delayed onset.

I was nervous on my ride in to work this morning because this story aired on the 5pm and 11pm news yesterday...
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/vide...729/index.html

[bunny_ninja]

and here is some more good car / cyclist fun:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/arti..._campaign=8315

[HillSlugger]

Oh no, MD!!! Ouch!!!
I'm glad you're OK. Both times I have gone down it has been so fast that I never had a chance to think about how to "brace" myself best for impact and my head hit hard both times.
I guess you got the first "real" crash out of the way, eh?
Take care of yourself!!

Yeah, it happened fast; all I had time for was to think "Sh!t"

I took my first dose of Advil while I was waiting for a pickup.

I think my big fat pannier took a bunch of the impact and protected me from worse injury. It's dirty but not even scuffed; Ortlieb makes quality bags.

This bike had never revealed its name to me; maybe it's "Skid"

[redrhodie]

OUCHIE!!! take aleve or advil, for sure. I often get the most pain -- delayed onset.

I was nervous on my ride in to work this morning because this story aired on the 5pm and 11pm news yesterday...
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/vide...729/index.html

That seemed fair to me. Everybody shown on that clip had room for improvement! Why did it make you nervous? Your state's drivers seem to be extremely aggressive and impatient to me (not like my own state's drivers are perfect or anything!). Do you think that story will just create more hostility? It's good that they mention the new state laws, since most people probably don't know about them.

When the one woman, obviously a car driver said "I don't want them on the road" I said to myself, well I don't want you on the road, either, so we're even. And I'm not speaking of all car drivers. Just her.

I'd like to see my state make info videos that would be shown at the DMV on how to drive safely around cyclists. Right now, when you go to the DMV, they show celebrity trivia on the monitors, and I think, what a waste of a good opportunity to refresh driving laws.

[Crankin]

I didn't see the clip on the news, but that group looked suspiciously like the Wednesday Wheelers, the group from CRW that I ride with. I saw more than one CRW jersey there... however, the leaders have been very aggressive at yelling at riders who don't get in a single file line when someone yells car back. I have been known to use my school teacher voice in these cases.
Sigh, I recognized some of those places on the rural roads.
I have conquered the suburban traffic, but riding in Boston or Cambridge still scares the crap out of me. Generally, I have not had any issues. I obey the law, though. When DH and DS started riding in 1999, they had tons of stuff thrown at them, bottles, soda, oranges. They got called "fags" while sitting on a bench, drinking a gatorade once, right around here, as they were wearing lycra. That has not happened in a very long time. Yes, always guys in trucks doing the throwing.

[azfiddle]

I am trying to commute once a week, on Fridays. Our school has a kind of year round schedule, so we started 3 weeks ago. It's fine in the mornings right now, but it was really, really hot coming home today- 99 the whole way way. Of course there's no shade in the desert and the asphalt radiates the heat back up. My commute is about 10 miles each way, and the last 3, I had to keep talking myself into going. At least it's not uphill.

Still working out the best way to get presentable for teaching after the morning ride in. I have been washing my hair in the sink (science classroom) and cleaning up and changing in the bathroom, but just found out the nurse's office has shower I could use. I think I would need to leave 10 minutes earlier to have a full-fledged shower though..... and I hate getting up early as it is.

[Melalvai]

Still working out the best way to get presentable for teaching after the morning ride in. I have been washing my hair in the sink (science classroom) and cleaning up and changing in the bathroom, but just found out the nurse's office has shower I could use. I think I would need to leave 10 minutes earlier to have a full-fledged shower though..... and I hate getting up early as it is.

Maybe just a quick rinse-off. But yeah, you'll need a few extra minutes. At least for this super hot stuff.

I heard squealing tires behind me this evening. A sports car behind me was going too fast, couldn't get around me because of oncoming traffic. I don't know if the squeals were from here or from one of the two sports cars following her (probably too closely)! That happened maybe 1/10 mile from my home.

[e.e.cummings]

When I'm traveling and sans bike, I like to go for walks. Hotels are invariably located in areas that are NOT designed for walking anywhere so mostly I walk around and snidely comment to myself on the poor road design. WTH, it entertains me.

My travelling involves supervising the set-up of a 3000 sq ft trade show booth, so I get a ridiculous amount of walking and standing during that time. My hotel is right across the road - it is nice, with a very nice fitness centre, but when it is beautiful weather, all I want is to go outside. You're right - it is located in a place not designed for walking. I so look forward to getting back on my bike next week, I miss it. (Nobody misses their car commute, do they?)

Right now I am waiting to meet someone at our booth and everything is so quiet, the set up is finished. Nice to catch up with TE.

[7rider]

One thing I prefer about bike commuting over driving a car is the personal nature of being on a bike. Cars are so impersonal.

Think about this: when was the last time you were standing in line at a bank, and you might be looking down -- writing up a deposit slip or digging through your purse for a pen (or even in a checkout line at a grocery store) -- and a gap opens to the person in front of you, and someone else darts in and cuts in between you and the person in front of you to take that space?
Never happens??
Then why does it happen all the time in a car? You let one car length gap form b/t you and the car in front of you -- when you're lined up to get on the highway, for instance -- and some nameless, faceless, schmuck cuts you off. They do it because they can, and they don't have to look you in the face to do it.

So anyway, I had been pondering that lately. And as I was riding in this morning, I saw a police officer getting out of his parked car in front of me. As I ride up closer, I recognize him as this guy, Ed, who is frequently at our LBS. He's friendly with the owner and is often telling tales of folks he's dealt with while on duty. He's hysterically funny (and can talk your ear off!). And it's scary, too, some of the folks he's dealt with! So I pull over, and we start chatting. For nearly 15 minutes! We're laughing, we're talking - everything from drug busts to triathlons to the heat. Funny. If I had gone by in a car, we never would have so much as waved. I would have missed out on a really great interaction with someone.

I really like my bike rides.

[malkin]

This morning I rode about a third of the way up the hill to work, when I started wondering if I had shut the garage door.

There's no one around to call, so I rode home to check and then rode all the way to work. Nice that this happened on a day when it wouldn't matter what time I roll in.

[redrhodie]

This morning I rode about a third of the way up the hill to work, when I started wondering if I had shut the garage door.

There's no one around to call, so I rode home to check and then rode all the way to work. Nice that this happened on a day when it wouldn't matter what time I roll in.

Was it open?

[Bike Chick]

This morning I rode about a third of the way up the hill to work, when I started wondering if I had shut the garage door.

There's no one around to call, so I rode home to check and then rode all the way to work. Nice that this happened on a day when it wouldn't matter what time I roll in.

What redrhodie said. Was it open?

[blackhillsbiker]

With all the motorcycles on the road (Sturgis Bike Week), I was glad to be on the bike path. I had to drive yesterday and I hated it! No offense to the motorcyclists on the forum, but I can't see the attraction. They're so loud!

Glad to be on my stealthy little commuter,
Deb

[soprano]

I'm also curious to know if the garage door was open!

I haven't been feeling well this week and it is very hot, so I took the bus on Monday and Tuesday. Today I'm feeling better and had a short day anyway, which meant not needing to ride home at 5 PM in the very hottest part of the day. It was so nice to get back on the bike.

They are doing some construction on an intersection that I go through, near the UT campus. Every day it is a little bit different. I think that they purposefully are blocking off paths that the many, many cyclists take to get around the cars - the construction has the cars down to one narrow lane each way, and sometimes the drivers become impatient waiting behind us, so we all try and go around. I need to find a detour and leave earlier I understand that they don't want to be watching for bikes near the construction, but somehow I doubt that the long line of drivers that got stuck behind me this morning going up the hill at 6 mph saw it that way.