How Was Your Commute Today?

[DebW]

I wanted to bike to work, but the lock on my basement door wouldn't open - I have only 1 way to get to my basement, and it's an outside door. It's done this a few times before, always very annoying. I saw my landlady and asked her to open it from the inside, which she did. I thought she was going to leave it unlocked for me, but 15 minutes later it was locked again and the key stil wouldn't turn. Aarg! So ended up walking to work, 1.5 miles but busy streets with no sidewalks. I've got a reflective vest and reflective triangle on the backpack for the walk home, but all my blinkeys were locked in the basement with the bikes. I did bring a headlight.

[Tri Girl]

good for you, Deb!

Meh- it wasn't really punishment- just that I needed to ride, and I would've had to only ride the trainer for 45 min. instead if I'd ridden to work.

That's a cool story, Tulip!!! That would have made my day/week/year!

[blackhillsbiker]

My commute was amazing! It was my first ride on the Felt. I could have sworn I was floating above the pavement! I'll have to ride my Dew for exercise, though. I shaved 5 minutes off my commute and wasn't even sweating. It was effortless. The last time I rode a road bike was the Schwinn Varsity in the 80s. This one is a whole different animal!

Deb

The saddle, however, has got to go!

[redrhodie]

I woke up at 6:15 to get ready for my commute....but, it was 14º. It was supposed to be in the 20s overnight. Boo. I know my limits. I went back to bed, guilt-free.

[Christopher]

Nice commute this AM, just enough light (with the headlight) to avoid iced-up puddles. Very pretty with the sun just coming up and I enjoyed the crunching of frost under the wheels. Had to hop onto the pedestrian path to avoid a wrecked car on the cyclepath - it had skidded on black ice and hit a lamppost. Fortunately no-one was injured. The driver was waiting for the tow-truck and didn't need assistance.

[MyRubyE]

Didn't have to commute this morning, but rode my bike this morning to do errands. The weather and road comditios were excellent for riding. Came across an interesting bike find along the way, which I plan to blog about later this evening. An all around great day for riding.

[blackhillsbiker]

Freezing this morning! Much nicer this evening. I've been taking the long route past a park that is all lit up for Christmas, with music playing and everything. I enjoy that.

Deb

[MyRubyE]

Sounds wonderful Deb - if we can beat the cold, enjoying the holiday decorations is wonderful to observe while riding.

[redrhodie]

1st commute on Princess Ice Boogie, my new bike. She's a 'cross bike with studded tires and disc brakes. This morning was in the 20s, and the roads had a lot of black ice. No problem! Really fun ride.

I had to avoid the bike path, which was all rutted and not great for these tires, and stay on the streets, which is a hillier route. Really felt the extra weight (she weighs almost 27 lbs since the tires weigh 2 lbs each). By the time I was getting ready to go home, my legs were burning from the morning ride.

I was so sore when I got home, I took some Advil and got right into a hot bath. I remember feeling the same way the first few times I commuted on both my other bikes. It must be new bike syndrome. I'm taking a rest day tomorrow!

[7rider]

Boy....the vacations are over.

Although I didn't bike commute b/t Christmas and New Year's, just being out on the road during that week - and to a lesser extent, bike commuting in the days leading up to Christmas - showed that the level of commuter traffic was down to tiny levels as folks took vacations and burned leave. It was a joy to be able to get out of our neighborhood easily without line after line of non-stop traffic.

But...all good things must come to an end. It's Monday and the workers are back - even at 6:45 a.m. Saw more traffic than I like this morning. May have to re-set that alarm clock 10 minutes earlier to try to get out ahead of it.

But...today is the first day - and likely the only day - where Pfunk12 and I have the same number of bike commutes! Yahoo!

[pfunk12]

You are beating me! Today is my work-at-home day so no commuting for me. I am going to do the 12:30 Thrasher ride. Hoping that the pace is civilized and I don't get dropped.

But...today is the first day - and likely the only day - where Pfunk12 and I have the same number of bike commutes! Yahoo!

[blackhillsbiker]

Yuck! The path was drifted over every few feet, rutted and icy. I was wondering whether or not it would be plowed due to holidays. My 15-minute ride took me just under an hour. It started to snow really hard. The snow tires and my trusty Dew kept me upright. DH picked me and my bike up to go home for lunch. I'll try again tomorrow.

Deb

[Tri Girl]

great day to commute! Had to be careful of the icy patches on the roads, but it was so peaceful and quiet... except for the howling headwind the whole way- which made the ride home sa-weet!!

[Rebecca19804]

First day back commuting by bike following knee surgery - yay! And so far, so good. Totally enjoyed my journey, including the first 45 minutes in the dark. Weather was a bit warmer than forecast and I got a bit too warm. But it was such a joy to be back in the saddle again!

[7rider]

Good for you, Rebecca! Welcome back!

The back story:

Occasionally, I go grocery shopping at lunch at the grocery store across the street from my office. Inevitably, I buy way more than I can carry in my Arkel pannier - which is usually already full with my clothes, towel, and lunch bag. So, I got a grocery pannier with the intention that it will live on my rear rack for those occasional lunch-time trips. Most of the times it's empty, but it's there for those "just in case" needs to carry some crap or other.

This morning, the pannier was empty, and I hit a bump in the road just right, and launched it off the rack and into the street (I really need to dial in the bungee, so it's tight enough to stay, but loose enough to conveniently remove). So, I stop, swing back to go get it, waiting for passing cars to clear. Every car - except for this one big black SUV (figures ) avoided it. The SUV hit it smack - dead on. Grrrrr....You did that on purpose, you turd!! I yelled after it. Fortunately, it was empty and there's not much to it, so it's fine. But geez....did that grate my cheese for the morning.

This afternoon, I'm heading up the hill to my neighborhood - the last 3/4 mile includes 1/2 mile on a sidewalk to avoid a busy 6-lane road. On the sidewalk, by the Baptist church, there was a bunch of broken glass. It's been there for at least the past two days that I've ridden.

Grrrr...Somebody's got to do something about that, I thought.

So I decided I would be that "somebody". I rode home, grabbed a broom out of the garage, and went back and swept up the glass. There. Done.