How Was Your Commute Today?

**redrhodie** · 06-20-2012, 01:52 PM

It is 93° right now. I may have mastered commuting in the heat. I got to work hardly sweaty. It took an easy pedal stroke, and effortless effort. Today was not a day to even think about riding fast.

**ZenBiker** · 06-20-2012, 04:18 PM

"Interesting" is the word I'd choose. After reading all the advice about getting a professional bike fitting done, I went ahead and did that yesterday. The lbs I bought my bike from doesn't have anyone trained to do fittings, so this required taking the day off and driving 3 hours to the Big City. The guy who worked with me said he would have put me on the next bigger frame

but the fit was close enough that swapping out the stem and making a few other adjustments should give me a good ride position

Anyway, this morning's commute felt kind of like getting used to a new bike. Not dramatically different, just unfamiliar. I think this is going to be a big improvement once I get used to the new position and slightly different handling.

Then, after work, I had to pick up two 8' x 4' outdoor banners I just had made for our local farmer's market (which opens in July). So I was riding down main street with these rolled up, but still quite large, banners strapped to the sides of a backpack like a pair of skiis. This is in a town that lives and dies on oil and gas drilling, so bikes get odd looks even when they aren't doing anything weird. I'm guessing there were some interesting comments made about me, but maybe not - maybe they just ignored the odd biker going by.

**SueMargaret** · 06-20-2012, 05:37 PM

and I love it! But today was very hot and I took the long way home because I won't ride for the next couple of days. So it was about a 20 mile ride home. Very hot for us here in Maine. About ten miles in I started yawning like crazy. Then close to the 15 mile mark I got chills and goosebumps. I realized that something was not right and stopped to get a cold drink. Felt very wierd and disoriented. Finally I bought some PB crackers to eat with my cranberry lemonade adn felt better enough to limp the last five miles home...has this happened to others?

**Melalvai** · 06-21-2012, 05:36 AM

You were smart to realize something was wrong and get some food & water. It just takes a few days (or more) to adjust to heat. I struggle with it every year.

I finished Bike Across Kansas on Saturday, 60-80 miles daily. I tried to go for a short ride Monday evening but it was too hot and I didn't do well. (I nearly threw up.) It was unusually cool for Kansas last week. Then on Tuesday I biked to work, not even 2 miles, and got super nauseous again. Wed-- I was feeling sick before I even got on my bike. (I biked anyway. Slowly.)

Heat and fatigue, I guess. I'm off to NIH in a couple hours (by plane, not bike!) so no more biking this week. Hopefully next week will go better.

**ZenBiker** · 06-21-2012, 02:40 PM

Good reminders to take heat seriously - thanks.

It was 50 degrees when I left for work today, and is 97 right now. Unfortunately it's downhill in the morning, and uphill coming back - so I can't cancel out the temps with more/less effort pedaling. But it's helping me justify the nice, lightweight, stuff-able jacket I bought when I started commuting.

It was a red letter day at the office: we exceeded our bike rack capacity! Of course, we have around 100 employees and our bike rack only holds 6 bikes, so.... not much to brag about. But progress nonetheless.

**lovelygamer** · 06-27-2012, 03:20 AM

I had trouble in traffic yesterday afternoon. A woman tried to aggressively pass me on the left in a major intersection when there was no room. I would have been hit or knocked over so I put my arm out like I was turning to secure my space and that pi**ed her off. She barreled up on me and revved until the next light where she started yelling at me "Get your bike on the sidewalk where it belongs" and "You shouldn't drive in the road if you can't go as fast as a car." The intersections were a block apart. I was not going majorly slow-just following the flow of traffic. I thought she was going to get out and hit me. With things like this happening, it's frustrating. It sure would be a deterrent to a new rider. What if this happened to a rider on their first or second day out? I can understand why so many people fall into the "interested, but concerned" category as the League of Bicyclists calls it. Our communities need some real education on the rules of the road.