How Was Your Commute Today?

[HillSlugger]

Wow, it was foggy this morning! Had to deal with the fog in the air and the fog on my glasses. Made it in safely.

The ride home was beautiful, spoiled only by the guy who had to yell something about "sidewalk!"

[lph]

Agh! Cold!! Just below freezing but pretty sunshine, so I expected it to warm up as I went and chose the long way in. But then the sun disappeared *brr*. I started off a little over-heated, unzipped here and there, got onto the coasting part, started zipping things closed again, and then just sat there feeling toes and fingers slowly turning into little blocks of ice. Commutes over an hour going on hour and a half are definitely more challenging to dress for than sub-one-hour commutes.

Oh, and one terrifying spot of ice I didn't see coming at all and had to brake over. Haven't seen real ice for weeks and have gotten very used to leaning over in turns again :-o

[Fontinalis]

As the weather is warming up (mornings above freezing!), I have taken again to commute by bike full time. Have not touched the car in two weeks now. Yesterady, I did a commute to a suburb that I don't particularly like because of poor city planning of the bike lanes or no bike lanes in some areas. But the good surprise is that end of season last year (october) I was doing that in 1h45. And yesterday, I did it in 1h10 with the wind in my face and 47F. And 1h15 coming back, no wind, but uphill for the most part. I am encouraged to keep at it. The best part of it is that going by car to that location takes me between 45 min to an hour. So 1h10-1h15 by bike speaks volume on commuting by bike in the city! I rest my case.

[Catrin]

I am considering starting to bike to work the one day a week I don't have somewhere to go directly afterwards (and it isn't safe to park my bike there) - though for now would likely take the bus home (they have bike racks here). I will likely just bring clothes to the office the day before as I do not have racks just yet - and want to get more comfortable with my LHT before I start adding weight to him. It makes sense that adding weight to the back would change the way he handles.

Hopefully NEXT weekend can test the route - I need to do that before taking the plunge. My boss is allowing me to park my bike in my office We DO have a bike rack outside the City-County building where I work - but it is isolated and I have never seen a nice bike parked there. Much easier to put it in my office for the day!

[WindingRoad]

Hey girl! I ride to downtown all the time if you need help on routes I can probably help. Kudos to you for commuting!

[Biciclista]

you know, I've been bike commuting since 2005. This is my 5th year.
And my goodness, a lot has changed. In the early days, i was nervous all day because I knew I had to face the traffic and ride back up that hill. I had a lot more trouble with the temperature, dreading the heat dreading the cold.
But I've really changed. It's still not a cakewalk to go up the hill, but depending on my mood, I saunter up it, plod up it, or push up that hill. Used to be if the temperature was close to 40 degrees, i'd panic, it would be too cold. I got used to that too. I've discovered that even if my hands are cold (in my longfingered gloves) I'm going to be warm when I get to work.
This has spilled over to other parts of my life too. I don't suffer so much from the cold as I used to. (I still require lots of blankets at night) But when I'm out and about, I just don't need to be coddled as much.
Thought you guys would like to know. Hey, just one more week and it's bike to work month!

[Catrin]

Hey girl! I ride to downtown all the time if you need help on routes I can probably help. Kudos to you for commuting!

ooooooh, this is good to know I am busy this weekend and want to get another good road ride in before I start doing this - but I would like to start doing it soon. As I said, it can only be one day a week.

I live around Cunningham and Crawfordsville, and am considering either coming straight down 16th and making my way through the downtown streets (at 5am), or riding up to 30th/White River and taking the White River Trail downtown...

[7rider]

Well....I set a record this week. 4 days out of 5.
And all blissfully uneventful!
No thrown backs. No crazy drivers.
I did run into (not literally) a friend of mine today and we rode for a while, chatting. Was a pleasant way to end an otherwise crazy work week.

[Melalvai]

This has spilled over to other parts of my life too. I don't suffer so much from the cold as I used to. (I still require lots of blankets at night) But when I'm out and about, I just don't need to be coddled as much.

I've observed that too! I used to be the one who was always cold when everyone else was sweating. I'd keep a sweater and even scarf & hat at work. After I started biking I was the one who was hot in the office when others were putting on their sweaters and turning the heat up.

[redrhodie]

I had a scary commute last night. I saw a dog come very close to being run over. It was awful, but luckily he was missed by the tiniest of margins. Even though he was okay, the rest of my ride wasn't the same.

The morning commute was great. I had had a massage the day before to help with a migraine (both massage and migraine were painful) so I decided to ride soft. It was really pretty out, and I took the easiest route. I had a tailwind and ended up at work refreshed and relaxed.

[Tri Girl]

3 of 5 days this week for me. I wish I'd ridden every day, but my allergies are making me so miserable that I'm happy I got in 3.
My commute yesterday was really peaceful. Strong headwind in the morning (after a good rain the night before), and a strong tailwind on the way home. Pure bliss!!

[Medianox]

Its the best time of year here for commuting-cool in the mornings and just nice and warm in the evenings. My favorite part is when I pass homes that have orange trees blooming....the scent of orange blossoms in the cool morning air is intoxicating!
After a few near disasterous equipment failures last year, I resolved to buy a new bike for commuting. My tax return was nice this time and (after much research) I spent some of it on a Swobo Otis! I chose the 16.5 stepthrough size, fenders, rack and back basket (for shopping and errands). I made the decision to try and live as car free as possible (either one of the bikes I have is worth more than my '95 Neon right now-lol) so the rack and the basket are for store trips, etc.
I find myself getting up early to ADD miles to my morning trip to work on purpose because my new bike is so fun to ride!
Since the bike is all stealth matte black, I added Lightweights spoke reflectors and black reflecting tape to parts of the frame, plus new lights.
I don't find myself riding in the dark too much, but it does happen and I want to be prepared.

[Tri Girl]

I spent some of it on a Swobo Otis!

How dare you taunt us with just a story of your new bike and not show us pictures! I'm going to need to see a picture of your new ride.
Congrats!!

[Medianox]

lol sorry!
Here is a link to the official pic....I'll take some later and post-i've been too busy having fun riding it to take any!

[Psycler]

Hi, I am been reading the forum for a while and really enjoyed. So I thought I might try posting to it as well.

I have been commuting to work for a few years. It is a 12 mile trip one way for me.
I work 2nd shift which I think is ideal for commuting. I leave for work in the early afternoon before rush hour and I go home between 10:30 and midnight so there is very little traffic then.
My co-workers think I am a little crazy, but I can handle that. Afterall it seems like I am the only one that arrives to work smiling. They don't know what they are missing by driving. ;
I try to commute 2 to 4 times a week. Last week, I managed 4. It was a very good week.