How Was Your Commute Today?

[tzvia]

Sky King-
Good idea, the slime tubes. I'm a nerd and resistant to heavy tubes. But I found a slime light tube at the LBS so bought it for the back wheel. Gonna put it on the next time I flat. It weigh double what a good road tube weighs, but what am I weenie-ing about- 50 grams.

Got tubes with removable cores- and put an extra core in my patch box. I do this already for the road bike and MTB, I don't know why I didn't do this for the commuter.

My ride today was great. Not too hot, maybe upper 80s with a slight breeze. However, there were lots of sirens right behind me as I rode- several times I looked back, they seemed to stop a block or so behind me on Desoto... Got home and found out that there was a fatal accident. It must have happened right after I passed... Gives me the chills.

[7rider]

Brrrr...
45 degrees out this a.m. (7 C).
Had to pull out the jacket for my ride in this a.m. First time since....May?? maybe?

[divingbiker]

Yesterday while I was driving to the office, I was stopped on a downhill road in a line of traffic but had the green light at the bottom of the hill. A young guy on a bike was screaming down the hill (it's a wide road) to the right of the cars. An SUV was coming toward us and took the opportunity to turn left at the light through the stopped cars.

You know what's coming...the bike slammed into the SUV. I heard the impact, and saw the cyclist lying on the hood of the SUV for a few minutes. Once he started moving, I relaxed.

Miraculously, he was unhurt. He had one scratch. But there were a lot pedestrians and a crossing guard at the corner, and they insisted he go to the hospital. I stopped and asked if he wanted me to take his bike to my office and lock it up. He called me later and I dropped it off at his house on my way home.

He was so appreciative and said he was fine, except for some soreness. The windshield of the SUV was shattered. They didn't file a police report, but both the cyclist and I felt that he had the right of way since he had the green light and was going straight. Not sure what the police would have said.

He was one lucky young man.

[kmehrzad]

Amazing. That would have really shaken me up for the day.

Yesterday while I was driving to the office, I was stopped on a downhill road in a line of traffic but had the green light at the bottom of the hill. A young guy on a bike was screaming down the hill (it's a wide road) to the right of the cars. An SUV was coming toward us and took the opportunity to turn left at the light through the stopped cars.

You know what's coming...the bike slammed into the SUV. I heard the impact, and saw the cyclist lying on the hood of the SUV for a few minutes. Once he started moving, I relaxed.

Miraculously, he was unhurt. He had one scratch. But there were a lot pedestrians and a crossing guard at the corner, and they insisted he go to the hospital. I stopped and asked if he wanted me to take his bike to my office and lock it up. He called me later and I dropped it off at his house on my way home.

He was so appreciative and said he was fine, except for some soreness. The windshield of the SUV was shattered. They didn't file a police report, but both the cyclist and I felt that he had the right of way since he had the green light and was going straight. Not sure what the police would have said.

He was one lucky young man.

[tzvia]

Ok, I put on the slime tube in back, and tested my frame pump, which did not break off the head of my presta valve this time. Maybe being hot in the sun and in a hurry somehow caused me to break two presta valves. I donno.

Got a new front light that I really like already. It's the Nightrider mininewt 600. If you are looking for a simple all-in-one commuter front light and don't need 4+ hours at a shot, it will give you 600 lumens for 1.4 hrs or so. There are two lower lumen settings that extend the time. It charges via USB so I just charge it at work. It has a quick disconnect bar mount, is really light weight, and there are no wires and battery packs. Been using it this week and I think it will be perfect for this winter.

Yep, time to make sure I am ready for daylight savings time change. It's gona be really dark in the morning in a few weeks.

Today was overcast and almost foggy and a little misty. Got to work damp. It was 92f when I left though.

divingbiker- that gives me the willies. Having a car cut me off is my biggest fear when I commute in the dark. Ranks up there with being doored. I guess that is why my bike is a x-mas tree of lights and reflectors. Fear. Good the guy is ok (but I am sure he was sore the next day.)

[Duck on Wheels]

... but my route doesn't take me past this point anyway. The lucky bike commuters who rode in from outside the toll booth ring today were rewarded, not only with the sight of all the cars paying their tolls, but by friendly municipal workers in reflector vests who stopped the cyclists and paid them (!) the equivalent of the auto toll (about $4) to thank them for NOT driving One cyclist who was interviewed said "I think I'll go buy myself a coffee." That's the gist of this story in Norwegian: http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/trondh...cle1698894.ece
Oh, and note in the photo - the cyclists are all wearing helmets.

[Velocivixen]

@Duck on Wheels, thanks for posting that video! I didn't understand a word of it but I really liked that they were rewarding the cyclists. I also like seeing that there were so many cyclists AND that they were wearing helmets! When I first saw your name I thought you might be from Oregon (University of Oregon mascot is a duck!). Is commuter cycling popular in Norway?

[Bethany1]

I went 5-6 miles down the highway today. I've been taking it easy the past couple of weeks just doing 1-2 miles a day.

I figured the worst I could do is the usual and run out of energy like I have been. I downed a bowl of cereal, some water, and an energy bar. I filled up my water bottle and another with some Zipfizz that I found at Wal-mart. Wasn't sure how well it would work and I'm generally skeptical of "engery" drinks anyway.

I got a couple of miles up the road and took some of the Zipfizz. I about choked on it and realized this stuff is nasty. Are all these "energy" electrolyte stuff this bad? I'll keep to Gatorade. About a mile later I started feeling sick from the Zipfizz.

I headed back home even though I wanted to go farther (and shouldn't) and kept feeling even more sick, but I wasn't "bonking". Made it home and promptly vomited. That stuff is going into the trash. So far, I feel great and that's a first. Hopefully I won't spend the next three days sleeping it off.

Ick. My stomach still hurts from a quick sip.

[lph]

Duck, that video was great! (And the guy from kommunen was really cute Pretty sure he's a cyclist) I hadn't seen it before. Brilliant idea.

Bethany, hope your stomach is feeling better. Some of the energy stuff is harsh.

[tzvia]

... I got a couple of miles up the road and took some of the Zipfizz. .... Made it home and promptly vomited. That stuff is going into the trash. So far, I feel great and that's a first. Hopefully I won't spend the next three days sleeping it off.

Ick. My stomach still hurts from a quick sip.

Oh my. Nothing I have ingested, from energy drinks, gels, roks, bloks, moons, corned beef sandwich, what have you, has ever made me sick enough to actually expel it.

Many swear by NUN tablets, but I haven't tried them. I usually stick with GU powdered drink mix and find it easy on the stomach. I used to use LUNA mix but can't seem to find it at the LBS any more and don't see it on the Clif website so I guess it's gone. But GU works well and has never made me sick. It also does a great job of quenching that deep down thirst that water sometimes just does not stop. Along with some Clif Bloks or Hammergel, and a Clif Builder bar and banana for my lunch stop I can go on a 40ish mile road ride and feel good at the end and not bonk. I also keep a Stinger in my back pocket or Camelbak in case the ride is harder than I expected and I need some quick sugary carbs.

For my short commute, I just keep Clif Bloks in my backpack, and sometimes I have one Blok when I get to work, and drink some tea if I feel I need a little lift.

[laura*]

Dear driver of the gold colored full size van:

You nearly side swiped me 'cause you were driving partially in the bike lane! I noticed you got caught by the red light up ahead. You apparently were going to go straight, while I intended to make a right turn there. I hope you were surprised by the sound of the knuckle knock on the side of your van as I zipped around the corner. It sounded very hollow and echoey.

[redrhodie]

It sounded very hollow and echoey.

Where you knocking on his head?

[Bethany1]

I did much better today. 2 miles on gravel and 3 on regular roads. Stopped off to get my Allegra-D at the store and headed home. You get quite the workout on gravel roads..LOL.

I am glad I didn't go down the road that has train tracks. Something just said turn right and go get your meds. 30 seconds later, I heard the train coming across the road which would have been about the time I would have gone over them or would have had to try to stop to avoid the gates going down. The tracks are about halfway down the hill making stopping hard. Glad I listened. Train tracks aren't great on your tires anyway. It was just a faster way to get to the main road back into town.

I took the long way to the pharmacy which includes several hard hills but worth the effort. Hills are getting easier though.

I've just learned to listen to the "gut" feelings as they are usually right.

[ZenBiker]

I recently put new, slick city tires on my commuter bike, switched out the campus pedals for some old Candies that I took off a previous road bike, and adjusted the seat height. I rode it to work today for the first time since making these changes (I alternate between my road and commuter bikes depending on what errands I have to run). Wahoo! The commuter bike is now much more fun to ride! Good thing since as the season changes I'll want those fat tires more often.

Temps in the 40s going to work, near 80 coming home. Makes dressing a bit of a challenge but gotta love these calm sunny days!

[Sky King]

Spending 4 days in Portland and riding a borrowed extended cycle everywhere was amazing. I loved, loved the clearly marked bike routes. I traveled from NW to NE numerous times for Oregon Manifest events with zero problems. We were riding through the heart of the city on Saturday night at 10 pm and felt totally confident. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult for other cities to work with the cycling community to designate more bike routes and then to paint those awesome large bikes on the roadway so drivers would be aware that the street was a bike route. I am now throughly spoiled.