How Was Your Commute Today?

[Crankin]

Yeah, the only comments I've gotten from the other therapists is, "Oh you must be serious." I am wearing my mtb shoes with Frogs when I commute, so I am not so clompy with the shoes, although it's quite clear I am wearing cycling shoes with cleats. I did have one older (of course now, that means at least 65) woman ask me about what kind of riding I do, what tours I've been on, etc. It turns out she did a lot of touring up until recently. Most of the "looks," I get are from the admin staff, who try to scare me with cycling crash/injury stories. Apparently, just 2 weeks ago, the DH of one of the admins crashed going over a RR track while on business in San Francisco. He is really messed up, hip broken 3 places, was told he'd never ride again. Of course I didn't say that I always slow, unclip, and scoot over unfamiliar tracks. I did mention our closest friend broke his hip in a crash 4 years ago and was back riding in 4 months, but they just gave me a dirty look! My supervisor, who is a serious runner and avid cyclist, too, broke her collarbone by crashing into her DH a couple of years ago, but she is back riding.

[colorisnt]

Injuries can happen in ANY sport. People don't seem to get that runners are also quite prone to injuries because running is pretty hard on your body comparatively. When people tell me stuff like "oh, what if you fall?" or "what if a car hits you?" I tell them about my poor baby sister getting hit by a dump truck while out running or the season she found out she had been running on a hip fracture due to a stress fracture gone bad. They tend to not know what to say. My own mother worried a lot until she got back into riding with my Dad. They used to be road warriors so I think now she is starting to remember. The BF's family is all runners and triathletes so they don't bother us haha. They chipped in on his new Cross purchase this weekend as a birthday gift.

I rode in today in a dress (liner shorts under) clipped in and got some strange looks. I then put the bike in the car (boo driving) that was parked in my garage last night because we worried about hail damage and don't have a garage at home. Car is fine and the bike is now in it until I leave this afternoon.

[Helene2013]

We are used here seeing "sports" people coming into work, even in a 37th floor building in downtown Montreal. So we pay little attention. We even have showers for our staff who'd like to use one. It's business as usual.

As for falls, I can attest it goes fast.

Today, unfortunately, a 33YO woman just died this morning as she hit by a heavyload truck - almost east-town. Still unclear what happened yet but there is a bike path/sidewalk. Was she using it? Did she fall before and the truck happened to be coming at same time, no way to tell yet. At this point, only the driver can report the event but police is "re-tracking" the map to get the whole picture. So sad. Dying while probably getting to work.

[colorisnt]

That's really terrible

It's great that you have showers, though. I wish more workplaces here were committed. I think if we had a wealthy donor that wanted to build us a new building, my Dept. Chair would demand in-house bike parking and showers for commuters since there are probably 10 of us every day that would make use of these services. However, we don't have the money. This place is surprisingly progressive and, despite the fact that people DO bike commute, most people think we are crazy for doing it here.

[Crankin]

I rode to work this morning, after going to boot camp at 5 AM. I drove to the gym, did my workout, and then came home, ate, showered, and got my pannier ready. Being able to leave at 9 helps a lot with traffic. I just walked over to get a salad from the hospital cafeteria and it feels colder out than when I rode in! It's supposed to be 60 today, but probably will be less when I leave at 6. The sun is gone, too.
Probably will commute tomorrow, too, since the weather looks crappy after that.
My allergies are horrible, with mold counts through the roof. I felt horrible while riding in, but a bit better as the hours go on.

[colorisnt]

Absolutely awful allergies here for the BF. He has a terrible tree pollen allergy. I am starting to get them no that everything is on the move. My worst one is ragweed and the other is grass pollen. Way less on tree pollen.

Just fought 25 mph winds going to/from the grocery. Did about 7 miles and got stuff for dinner. Even strapped a lunch thing of chinese food on the back of my rack to go! Motivation.

[Crankin]

My ride home was uneventful. But... I did again see the azzhole rider who made a left from the right lane, last week. He did this in front of me, right in front of cars approaching in both directions on the cross street. For what? As I was about to clip in, I saw the guy coming out of the medical building that my building is attached to, with his bike. He blew by me, and then I caught up to him at the light where the street crosses Rt. 2, a major highway. He was *in the right turn lane,* like he was going to turn onto the highway. Of course, he was going straight, but couldn't be bothered to get in the center lane. There weren't even any cars, as it was already about 6:20. I stayed behind him for awhile, but then he started going about 25 mph. I saw him do the same thing in another right turn lane and I was quite glad I wasn't near him.