How Was Your Commute Today?

[Tri Girl]

brave for sure!!! What a cool picture, tho! Stay warm.

[kmehrzad]

I think it's worth reporting that there is nothing to report this morning.

What a dull day then, eh?

[kmehrzad]

btw my biggest issue this morning was the cold air making my eyes tear; how do you deal with this?

My eyes tear easily, as well - doesn't matter if it's a cold wind or warm wind. I don't wear contacts, and with my astigmatism I cannot wear sunglasses that wrap due to distortion. So, my optician suggested Liberty Sport Goggles and thus far I'm very happy with them and didn't notice any distortion. They're a nice snug fit, and there was definitely a significant decrease in tear production while riding last weekend into the wind. Here's the link to the goggles, if interested.

http://www.framesdirect.com/framesfp...mikcpe/lb.html

[pfunk12]

I had to stay late at work so instead of leaving at 4:30, I left at 5:30. I'm so used to cycling home when it was still light so I wasn't too thrilled with the darkness. I was about a mile from the spot where "the body" was supposedly located. All of a sudden, without warning, a cyclist comes flying up on my left and yells, "BOO!" I almost fell off the bike! It was Travis, a young kid I met a few weeks ago. We cycled home together on two occasions. I said, "Travis sweetie...let me tell you a story about a body." And then, "DON'T EVER SCARE ME AGAIN!" He said, "My bad, P...my bad." I couldn't stop laughing.

What a dull day then, eh?

[kmehrzad]

P -- What a scare! It's a week like this one that keeps your blood pumping. Travis could have easily given you a heart attack. Good thing you're in such great shape.

[pfunk12]

So glad tomorrow is my day off so I will NOT be commuting.

P -- What a scare! It's a week like this one that keeps your blood pumping. Travis could have easily given you a heart attack. Good thing you're in such great shape.

[7rider]

DH rode into the city tonight to meet me, so we could ride home together.
Well....sort of.
He called me when I was in the locker room getting ready. "My rear derailleur cable snapped," he reported. He was riding to our LBS for an emergency repair, and I would meet him there. The shop is just 1.5 miles from my office, so it was an easy trip there.
...a half hour of repair, lots of b.s., and general chit chat, and DH was done with a new cable.
So off we went for a ride home.
Now....DH was riding his sub-17 pound ti and carbon Seven ID8 road bike...which he rides against Cat 2 racers. Me....I was on my upright, flat bar commuter with a single pannier weighing about twice that. So....on our ride home, you can imagine I was a little out-gunned. Think: Ferrari vs. Hummer. Any time the road turned upwards (oh...and it was really windy, too), I got dropped off the back like a rock.
Was I wrong for being a little surly by the end of the ride?

[pfunk12]

No! Surly would have been an appropriate emotion.

Was I wrong for being a little surly by the end of the ride?

[HillSlugger]

DH rode into the city tonight to meet me, so we could ride home together.
Well....sort of.
He called me when I was in the locker room getting ready. "My rear derailleur cable snapped," he reported. He was riding to our LBS for an emergency repair, and I would meet him there. The shop is just 1.5 miles from my office, so it was an easy trip there.
...a half hour of repair, lots of b.s., and general chit chat, and DH was done with a new cable.
So off we went for a ride home.
Now....DH was riding his sub-17 pound ti and carbon Seven ID8 road bike...which he rides against Cat 2 racers. Me....I was on my upright, flat bar commuter with a single pannier weighing about twice that. So....on our ride home, you can imagine I was a little out-gunned. Think: Ferrari vs. Hummer. Any time the road turned upwards (oh...and it was really windy, too), I got dropped off the back like a rock.
Was I wrong for being a little surly by the end of the ride?

He definitely should have been doing a better job of pulling!

[Melalvai]

Dumb college kid in an SUV yelled "Laaaaance!" as he passed. That worries me. What are they teaching kids these days?? Lance is fast. I am slow. Lance rides cool bikes. I ride a fred bike. I look nothing like Lance. Lance has one testicle more than I do. I have one ovary more than Lance does. That poor fellow will never graduate college, I believe.

Round the next corner is a pedestrian crossing to the Vet Hospital. I stop at that stop sign reflexively. It's automatic, I don't think about it. Rarely is there a pedestrian in the crosswalk, but this time there was. He proceeded, I proceeded. He turned around in the middle of the road, and announced:

"Congratulations, you are the first cyclist in ten years I have seen stop at that stop sign."

I smiled the rest of the way home.

[pfunk12]

Dumb college kid in an SUV yelled "Laaaaance!" as he passed. That worries me. What are they teaching kids these days?? Lance is fast. I am slow. Lance rides cool bikes. I ride a fred bike. I look nothing like Lance. Lance has one testicle more than I do. I have one ovary more than Lance does. That poor fellow will never graduate college, I believe.

Round the next corner is a pedestrian crossing to the Vet Hospital. I stop at that stop sign reflexively. It's automatic, I don't think about it. Rarely is there a pedestrian in the crosswalk, but this time there was. He proceeded, I proceeded. He turned around in the middle of the road, and announced:

"Congratulations, you are the first cyclist in ten years I have seen stop at that stop sign."

I smiled the rest of the way home.

Hey, Lance...good stories!

[ny biker]

I know two bike commuters in northern Virginia whose water bottles froze during their ride this morning.

Anyone else?

[7rider]

I know two bike commuters in northern Virginia whose water bottles froze during their ride this morning.

Anyone else?

Not mine in MD. But then, I whimped out and took Metro. I think I've lost my enthusiasm for 18 degree (-7C) and windy commutes.

[ny biker]

Not mine in MD. But then, I whimped out and took Metro. I think I've lost my enthusiasm for 18 degree (-7C) and windy commutes.

Well I've never had that enthusiasm so you're still better than me...

[pfunk12]

I know two bike commuters in northern Virginia whose water bottles froze during their ride this morning.

Anyone else?

I went out earlier when it was 23 degrees with a 13 degree wind chill but my water didn't freeze.