How Was Your Commute Today?

[shootingstar]

After work, I rode longer out with dearie to go..shopping for home hardware.

A 27 kms. round trip ride in an area that I'm still not familiar with. I nearly got lost after he blasted along the prairie river bank. In our area, it's not as difficult to lose sight of someone ahead of you.

I'll get to know my area..but it's been a long hard winter with alot of snow where I am living now.

Actually last few days, it's been buying stuff and hauling it around. We did rent a van once.

I moved...closed to live near the bike-pedestrian path. Just 3 blocks down the street.

[jessmarimba]

I dawdled in the park this morning because after the park are the three big hills that seem to have no downhill in-between...I hate them. They're the kind that make you stare down at your wheel just so you don't have to see that your office at the top of the hill isn't getting any closer. I count bike path (sidewalk) panels. Once it switches to asphalt I can look up again.

Then I cheered a bunny that high-tailed it across the 4-lane road (he made it).

I saw and almost caught a woman on a road bike, and it was interesting because all I could wonder was whether she was someone from this forum

[7rider]

Got about a mile into my ride this morning, when I looked down and realized I had forgotten my water bottle and coffee thermos!

I would have been miserable without my water bottle. My co-workers would have been miserable if I didn't have my coffee!!

Turned around, went back to the house to get them - much to the alarm of DH who, it seems, completely missed seeing them on the kitchen counter right beside the coffee maker, from which he had just poured himself a cup.

So, about 15 minutes late, into what was already a late start for me, and I was reminded - yet again - at how much quieter the streets are a 7 a.m. vs. 7:30 a.m. I can't wait for summer and it's lower traffic levels.

[Geonz]

Since this is what my tire looked like last night, I decided to ride the folder this morning.

I stopped to take pics of the new sharrows & bike lane stripings (they're not brand new; they were painted on in the winter, the day before a significant snowfall... and I think the plows took most of the paint right off). Alas, the complaint I made with the first batch -- that the "sharrow" is hugging the right gutter, in the right turn lane, rendering the sign that says we can use the full lane confusing and pretty pointless. (My blog has the pics). Usually Urbana is ahead of Champaign (the town next door) in doing right by bicycles, but not with this.

[redrhodie]

A guy on a motorcycle was tailing me for a while, then pulled up beside me to tell me I was doing 20. I said with a shrug, "I guess that's not too shabby."

I thought I was going to have a major headwind back tonight, but it was a tailwind. I don't understand how that happened, but thanks.

[ZenBiker]

I've been a sporadic bike commuter and set myself the goal of biking every day this month, in honor of National Bike Month and to make it a solid habit. This thread has been a fun way to get myself motivated.

This week has been a great start:
It finally stopped snowing and temps were actually above freezing every morning when I left home. Yay! Prevailing winds are such that I almost always have a head wind going home. Yesterday it was a tailwind. Like redrhodie said - thanks! Today, no wind. Thanks again! And my LBS guy saw me this morning and gave me kudos. *small glow of pride*. This commuting every day thing is fun!

[AppleTree]

Yesterday was a dentist appointment and I decided to do it by bike! As I walked into the lobby with my helmet in my hand and my bike clothes, the receptionist jaw dropped...one of the dental assistants came out and looked at me and said "you ROCK"... all this for less than four miles, heh heh. They even let me leave my bike in the lobby during my cleaning! I would say that THEY rocked!

Since it was sprinkling a bit (again) when I came out, I cut the ride short and just headed back home. But I stopped at the lake on the way and just enjoyed the quiet morning and the sight of a mama duck with about a dozen little duckies swimming near the shore. What bliss.

[redrhodie]

Nice commutes today. I was really early, so I decided to take the long route. Ran into my friend who was on his motorcycle. Then out past the horse farms, I got cut off by a woman in an SUV coming out of a driveway. No big deal, it was more rude than dangerous. Then, her dog, who had followed her up to the road, decided to chase me. I thought I'd outrun him, but he was beside me before I knew it. I thought of Ariel Moon's broken pelvis, and I decided to stop, knowing it could be really bad if he got in front of my wheel. I wasn't afraid of him, because he was a big ol' piece of chocolate (lab ). I firmly told him to go home a few times, and he turned and ran back to his driveway. That lady is really a jerk, though. Not only did she cut me off, but she just drove away knowing her dog was going to chase me (she would have seen this in her mirror), and even worse, she let her dog run into the street. He was over the yellow lines while chasing me. I can't imagine not caring about your pets like that.

The ride back tonight had an intense headwind. It took me 10 minutes longer than usual, which is a lot for just 15 miles, so I'm guessing it was blowing steady at 25 mph, with higher gusts. I was so tired when I got home.

[Geonz]

Commuted to our Parkland Chorus concert last night, at a church on campus. Last week one of my biking buddies had his bike swiped "in front of McKinley" - which could be a couple places, but maybe it was this church... and Danged if I don't arrive and my lock is not with me.
(Spoiler: it didn't get swiped or anything.)
In hindsight, I should have found somebody with the authority to let me bring it in and stash it somewehre, since 1 minute before the concert I was presented with that option... but I had already found a crowded spot on a rack in the back with 10 other bikes, one a nasty Next that looked like it had been locked there all year and another that wasn't locked at all, which told me some bikes *were* too nasty to get swiped (yet). So I leaned my baby against the locked nasty one, grabbed the long cable combo lock that was dangling from the rack and wrapped it over my handlebars so it kinda sorta looked locked, and then took the abandoned Huffy and made a snug sandwich on top of it, took my tools and stuff from the bags, and went inside and decided that hey, if Icame out and it was gone, I'd see what I could get from my homeowner's insurance and tap into savings and get that adorable Trek Transport.
Happily, even my extremely easily extractable light was still on (I'd forgotten to snatch it)... and I *hadn't* left the Garmin on it... but no, I really *should* have asked about taking it in because then I would have been informed that, in fact, the reason I didn't have my lock was 'cause I'd left it in the church at dress rehearsal (when I'd been riding the folder, which I *had* just taken inside and tucked behind things, because it is TOO CUTE even with a cable lock).
...and I successfully replaced the back tyre, but had to do it twice because just trying to get it down to th ebike project, the first old tyre I put on 'til I could do better went flat and :

[Melalvai]

How can you even enjoy the concert? Even in little Kirksville where people routinely leave bikes UNLOCKED and they don't get stolen, I'm nervous if I have to leave my bike unsecured and out of my sight for a moment. I've wrapped the cable lock around so it looks locked. (I keep my cable lock locked so I can't accidentally lock up my bike if I've forgotten my keys.) I could never relax and enjoy an entire concert in those circumstances!

I'm a high strung person...you must be a lot more laid-back than me.

[jennyrc]

My commute was cold...first ride into work this year. It's an easy, mostly downhill 8 mile ride. But when it's 33 degrees out, it get's chilly (especially with wet hair). But it was still enjoyable

[redrhodie]

Aaaargh, I blew it. I was trying to commute every day in May, but I wasn't supposed to work today, and got asked to come in at 10 pm last night. I figured I'd ride, and readied my bike. Then I woke up late to the sounds of HOWLING wind; it kind of sounded a lot like Curly of the Three Stooges. I quickly talked myself out if it, you know how those stooges are, someone always gets hurt. Gusts of 40 mph from the north sounded too intense for a nice commute.

I wanted to kick myself in the butt when I saw one of the other bike commuters I always pass on his bike. He looked to be suffering, but I was jealous. Still, I managed to get some errands done before work, so it wasn't all bad. Eh, yes it was. The suffering looked too good.

[Crankin]

I will second your idea, RR. I went out for a ride at 5:15 AM. I didn't realize how windy it was. At one point I was struggling to go 12 mph, down in the drops, in an easy gear. I worked super hard for my 13.5 miles.

[radacrider]

Today's commute started cloudy, a bit cool but dry. The afternoon rewarded us with real Spring weather - sunny AND warm -- Finally.


Fun to people watch (mostly).



Stopped and just enjoyed the warmness for a bit, cuz we are suppose to get back to chance of showers type weather tomorrow.

[Geonz]

How can you even enjoy the concert? Even in little Kirksville where people routinely leave bikes UNLOCKED and they don't get stolen, I'm nervous if I have to leave my bike unsecured and out of my sight for a moment. I've wrapped the cable lock around so it looks locked. (I keep my cable lock locked so I can't accidentally lock up my bike if I've forgotten my keys.) I could never relax and enjoy an entire concert in those circumstances!

I'm a high strung person...you must be a lot more laid-back than me.

I was singing in the concert... so I was already a tad nervous -- and sort of decided that, of course, it was going to get stolen and I'd have to deal with sheepishly telling the cops about not locking it... it *is* highly unique (and half the town knows whose bike it is) but it's also easy to carry something to Chicago. Then, I figured, I'd tap into savings and get me that Trek Transport -- but it wouldn't make margaritas like this bicycle can, and getting another fender blender would be even more expensive.

Today's commute was a bit heavily laden. I just got the next two units of teh Susan Barton Reading System so I put them on one side, my backpack on the other. The new tire is a fat 35 mm so it's rubbing the fender some (I hope -- when I put it on, my disk brake rotor was also rubbing and with a little help I adjusted that noise away... but it's a high pitched noise... but on the other hands, the tyres have little rubber thingies stickin' out that I *hope* are what's making the noise... can't quite tell for sure whether it's rubber on rubber or metal on metal...) I got a wave from the speed trapping cop at the school crosswalk (he's seen me before).