How Was Your Commute Today?

[WindingRoad]

I've been gradually getting some fitness back after my low back debacle. Yoga on Sunday explained to my why I need to do it more often. Ugh still sore. Rode to the store, school and Starbucks for study time. The weather was awesome. Couldn't have had a much better commute day.

[Gypsy]

Good commute today too. In a dress, again, black this time, rather than the bright green of Monday, and didn't have much of an issue. But it turns out my dresses are generally cut close to the body, so I need to get new dresses for the bike or use pants in general. I like the dress idea because of the whole Mary Poppins thing -- I do think it makes me stand out and cars are nicer and pay more attention.

[Tri Girl]

Good commute today too. In a dress, again, black this time, rather than the bright green of Monday, and didn't have much of an issue. But it turns out my dresses are generally cut close to the body, so I need to get new dresses for the bike or use pants in general. I like the dress idea because of the whole Mary Poppins thing -- I do think it makes me stand out and cars are nicer and pay more attention.

Yay!
For some of my dresses that are cut short (too short to wear without something underneath) or those that are a little too fitted (like pencil skirts), I find that I can hike them up just a little and wear compression shorts underneath so I don't flash the world.
Of course, I commute on a mixte bike, so my downtube is seriously slanted. It probably wouldn't work the same on a traditional diamond frame.

[Giulianna23]

Today my commute started in the morning soo nice....with great temperature.
Commuting back home with about 1 1/2 mile to go....I got a flat .

[tzvia]

Yesterday's ride was waaay short. Went downstairs with the pump, to 'top off' the tires, as I do every Tuesday morning, and dang if that front tire isn't as flat as a pancake! I've had those 700x35c Vittoria Randonneur Hypers for about 4 months, and while the ride really nice, I have flatted on the front tire twice already. It's that dang construction; glass, twigs, black-top stones, potholes, nails. They are making more 'bee-hives' as I call them, condo complexes that are as architecturally exciting as a cornflakes box, right across from Pierce College. They finished the east side, and without a break, started up on the west side.

I could not find what caused the flat, and had to pump up the tube and use soapy water to find the tiny leak. Probably a thin glass shard that did not stay in the tire.

The back tire has a Slime-Light tube in it and hasn't flatted yet, so I see I am going to have to get a Slime-Light up front too. Without a winter rain to wash some of this stuff out to sea (sorry charlie) it feels like I am mountain biking on a land fill.

[Melalvai]

After reading everyone's flat tires I wanted to post this:
I did not have a flat tire today.
In fact I haven't had a flat tire in a long time. Don't remember when the last one was, I'm guessing 1.5 years.

The only excitement on my commute lately, since the new bike lanes went in, is that the major north-south street near us is undergoing badly needed repavement. It's all torn up right now. I use it for 1/2 block to get to the bike-laned east-west street. I could cross over it and take the next street, but I can never seem to remember to do that. This morning just after I signaled my left turn I remembered it, but there was a truck behind me, and I didn't want to confuse the truck by not turning left after I said I was going to turn left, so I turned left! Maybe I'll remember tonight.

It's so hard to make little adjustments to a daily route. Not long ago I decided that I was tired of dealing with the traffic in front of the post office, and 4 stop lights in a row (which are perhaps 1/4 or 1/3 of the stop lights in the entire town). If I jumped a block north I could avoid both the post office traffic and have stop signs instead of stop lights. It took a couple weeks of to remember to do it even once!

[tzvia]

{{Sigh}} Wish I had the option to take other streets. Yea, there are other streets, but they suck. To the west, the next main street is narrower, the lanes are narrower and there is no room for a cyclist between the parked cars and the lane. It's much more crowded feeling and I can see myself getting doored as there is just no room. Desoto (any other west San Fernando CA TErs here?) is nice and wide with wide lanes and a bike route/lane (rare item here for a N/S street). I feel lucky to be working at a business on that street, commuting wise. To the east is another narrower street, no room for cyclists, a hill and college traffic. The MUP that runs E/W, which I do cross about 2 miles from home, was extended and now turns and goes NW 1 block over, but it angles away from work AND does not cut out the part of my ride that passes the construction. All it would do is add maybe a mile to my commute and leave me with the choice of taking Desoto with the road debris or Canoga with no room and more traffic.

Yesterday's ride felt good until I got home. We got some clouds and moisture up from the south, it was somewhat overcast and cooler, maybe upper 80s tops. It had actually rained around noon! Rain in August. A cloudburst. So I rode home at a good clip enjoying the cooler weather, not noticing the high humidity but after getting home I had to peel the clothing off of me. I was soaked; it was so humid the sunblock that was supposed to be water proof had lifted off my face and arms and was pooling in white globs. Road debris was sticking to my gooey legs. Gross.